Lucky Cat
by fuchsia.stoplight
Summary: Her name was nothing but a number. She spent her life in a cage, treated like an animal. No one acknowledged her existence. Not until the day she was adopted by Jasper Whitlock. Human Jasper/Neko Alice Jalice
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! If you don't know what a neko is, it is a popular Japanese idea of humans with cat ears and tails. I have put my own spin on this story, nekos are pets or servants to the upper class, and they are sold at neko "mills" where they are created. The neko Alice in this story is young and naive, struggling with her feelings of love for the one who adopts her. There will be multiple chapters to this story. Rate and review! **

APOV

"Get up." I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt and lift me to my feet. My legs felt numb and nonexistent, but I managed to stand at an awkward angle, holding onto the wall with one hand for support. "Stand up straight." The same voice snapped, and a moment later the same hand grabbed my wrist, holding it up so the rest of my body appeared to be standing straight. I held back a scared whimper. These men were my worst nightmare. They didn't care who I was, or how they hurt me. Their job was to make a deal with filthy rich customers and sell us off like prostitutes.

Another man was looking at me. He wasn't wearing white labcoats like the bad men, but he was tall and scary with a mean look on his face. I tried to stare at the ground as he examined me, measuring my height and poking at my skin. He pulled off my shirt and touched my breasts, which were nearly as nonexistent as I was.

"Small, isn't she?" the mean-looking man asked as he measured the width around my tiny waist.

"It's a pure bred." The bad man spoke above me, releasing my wrist from his rough grasp. I immediately fell down without anything to hold me up. "It's young. It will grow."

The mean man gave me a hasty look. "I'm interested in a cute house maid for my home. Do you know how to clean?" It took a moment to realize he was speaking to me. My ears flattened to the top of my head. I didn't.

"No." I whimpered.

"Do you know how to cook?" The man continued.

"No." I repeated, knotting my tail in my fingers.

His gaze shifted to the bad man beside me.

"I'm not interested in something that can't even stand." He said, turning away to leave. Suddenly I reached out and grabbed his pantleg with one of my hands.

"Wait! I can do other things." I pleaded, staring up at him hopefully. He was terrifying to look at, but nothing could be as bad as this place, where I had spent the first few months of my existence. "I can learn, too! Please." The man stared down at me with disgust. I was used to that look.

"Get her off of me, I just got these drycleaned." he snapped. Violent hands grabbed me around my waist and I let out a painful squeal. The bad man was holding me out in front of him like I had some sort of disease.

"We have other subjects for sale." The bad man said gruffly.

"If this is the best you have to offer me, then it would be a waste of time to see the others. Good day." The customer left without another word, taking the hope of my escape with him.

I knew my behavior would earn me punishment. The bad man threw me down to the ground and kicked me in the side, yelling something in a foreign language. I let out another squeal of pain, holding my aching ribcage. There wasn't much skin on my bones to protect me from the hits.

After he took his anger out on me, he dragged me back to the cage. The cage was a large caged room full of others like me. Nekos. Unfortunate souls who's existence was damned upon creation. The room was echoing with pitiful mews. My face hit the concrete floor with a crack and my hand cradled the side of my jaw which had made such a noise. The cage door slammed shut behind me.

Hours passed like days. Days passed like weeks. My health was falling behind. The prettier, bustier females were being adopted. The stronger, determined males were bought up within days of their creation. Some of them weren't pure bred. This frustrated me, because I was a pure bred and no one wanted to adopt me. It was because I was small and weak. I couldn't stand because my legs weren't strong enough. It wasn't my fault.

Eventually the bad men stopped coming for me. They stopped trying to hide my bruises with makeup and brush my hair. They had given up on trying to persuade anyone to buy me, because I was useless. I was going to die here.

One particular morning I was lying on the ground caressing the tip of my matted tail. My clothes were getting dirty and I hadn't been bathed in weeks. No one paid any attention to me. No one acknowledged my existence. Even the other neko avoided me, taking their mournful meowing to the other side of the cage.

No one loved me. I didn't know what it was like to love or be loved, but I knew none of it existed for me.

The cage door screeched open. The meowing heightened, all of them hoping the bad man would pick one of them to be shown to a customer. I was surprised to hear two voices this time instead of just the raspy voice of the gruff man. The talking was inaudible to me, but one of the voices was smooth and accented, like an angel.

"This is our entire selection, Major. The best males and females have been sold out earlier this week, but I'm sure there is one or two here that might meet your standards." That was the gruff voice of the bad man.

"I'll look around. Thank you." That was the angelic voice. I lifted my head off my arm to catch a glimpse of the owner of the second voice. It was rare that anyone was shown the cage room. He must have been important.

I couldn't see well, but I could hear the nekos meowing and trying to catch the customer's attention. He continued to speak in a low southern accent. The sound made my ears twitch.

"Do you have any more females?" he had asked.

"These are the last three." The gruff man grumbled.

"What about that one over there?" I could feel eyes burning into me. My skin tingled with excitement.

"That one's dying." The bad man's words took any sliver of hope I still had and ripped it from my chest. That man wouldn't adopt me now.

"How much for her?" My ears twitched again.

"You don't want that one, Major. It's the runt. You won't make anything good out of it." The bad man continued to argue, but the angelic man brushed off his words.

"Fifty-five." His accent echoed off the walls. Fifty-five? I didn't understand currency very well but that didn't sound like very much. I glanced over at the bad man, who looked like he was considering it.

"Major, I wouldn't sell a dead one for fifty-five bucks. There are folks who are into that kind of thing-"

"Fifty-five thousand." The voice clarified. The bad man choked on his breath, and so did I. "Is that enough for her, or can I offer more?"

"Fifty-five thousand is just fine, Major."

Those were the last words I heard out of the bad man's mouth.

I was lifted up by gentle hands that cradled my head and held me close to a warm chest. Never before had I felt so much affection and happiness in my life. My chest rumbled with a weak purr and I tugged gently on my savior's shirt with tiny shaking fingers. He was looking down at me with the softest hazel eyes I had ever seen in my life.

"Do you have a name?" He asked me gently. I didn't know. We all had numbers carved into some area of our body. It was like having a perminant bar code, in a way. Mine was on the back of my neck; I couldn't see it. "We'll get to that later." He was carrying me out of the cage, away from the meowing and the wailing. Away from the bad men. Away from the neko mill.

After passing through the lobby the man carrying me dug into his pocket for a card, swiping it across a machine and speaking a few words to the lady at the counter. She handed him a few papers, which he folded and put into his pocket while balancing me easily in one arm. He waved quickly and opened the door, stepping outside.

We approached a small vehicle, completely black with tinted windows. There was a tall skinny man with grey hair standing beside the passenger side, holding the door open.

"Ah, I see you have found a companion." His voice was old and reserved. "And a little girl, too. Hello, small one."

I couldn't find the strength to greet him. I was too overwhelmed by everything, and found myself clinging to my savior's shirt.

"We'll need to go straight home and get her cleaned up." The accent spoke again. He got into the passenger's seat and kept me cradled against his chest. "She's hungry, too."

The balding man got into the driver's side and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and driving down the road. I had never seen the outside of the mill. The sun was blinding, but it was beautiful. Not as beautiful as my savior.

I kept my eyes fixed on him as we were driven down the road. My savior's fingers were stroking through my hair gently, occasionally brushing against my ears. It was a long trip, and eventually I began to doze off.

"We're here." His voice startled me awake and my entire body jerked involuntarily. He was still holding me close to his chest, but we were standing outside of the vehicle now in front of a very large building.

"Where?" I piped curiously, resting my head beneath his chin.

"Your new home." It was huge. I had never seen a normal sized home before but it was larger than I had ever imagined one to be. My savior carried me inside the large glass front door and into a beautifully furnished room with lights hanging from the ceiling and polished wood floors. "I'm sure it seems big now, but everything will become familiar to you soon enough."

I was carried up a spiral staircase to another floor, although this one had plush white carpet. For the first time, my savior set me down on the ground. Unsurprisingly, my legs gave out and I fell forward, catching myself on my hands.

I expected a scolding or some sort of blow to my body but instead the same gentle hands lifted me up again.

"I should have been more considerate of your health." My savior apologized, brushing his lips over my forehead. I felt instantly calm, and my ears twitched happily. My savior was loving and kind. I was lucky.

He took me into a bathroom that was as large as the foyer. Sunlight danced off the white tile and the marble walls. "Chives will fix you a bath." My savior said as the grey-haired man walked in, leaning over a large white tub. I nodded my head timidly.

As the water began to run loudly, my savior began to undress me. Nekos didn't have a choice of clothing, so my t-shirt was the same one I had worn since my creation at the mill. It was dirty and torn, and I'm sure it didn't smell good. He slipped it off and let out a small breath of air.

At first I feared he was disappointed with my lack of breasts, but then I realized he was looking further down my small chest, where my skin was purple from the bad man's boot. It didn't hurt anymore, unless I laid on that side.

He worked off my loose underwear and tossed it aside with my dirty shirt, leaving me completely exposed. For some reason, I felt embarrassed. At the mill it was common for a neko to be seen naked. But here, in front of such a beautiful man's eyes, I was self conscious and ashamed. What if I wasn't good enough?

My savior made no sign that he was disappointed with me. He set me inside the large tub of bubbling water, which came up to my shoulders and almost to my neck.

"Are you alright?" He asked me as I sat for a moment in the warm, comfortable water. I nodded. "Good. If I hurt you, tell me right away." I doubted that my savior could hurt me.

I watched timidly as he removed his long grey jacket and hung it on a post on the wall. He was wearing a t-shirt with a logo on it, and I realized for the first time my savior was not yet a full-grown man. He was young, probably nineteen or twenty. It was hard to tell, but without his business attire he appeared much younger.

My savior leaned over the bathtub and began to run his hands through my hair again, this time scrubbing out the dirt and grease that had gathered up over time. I sat quietly, letting the smell of rose petals and vanilla calm me and soak into my skin. He was especially gentle with my tail, which he rubbed gently with the special soaps and conditioners until it was fuzzy and soft as velvet.

When I was clean he drained the tub of the murky water, rinsing me once more and wrapping my small body in a towel. I let him hold me in his arms as he rubbed me dry, tending to my ears and my face with gentle pats. I glanced at my hands, which were no longer caked with dirt and grime. They were pale and smooth, without a single flaw. I was pretty.

Once I was dry he set me down on the rug and fetched me dry clothes. Chives, the grey-haired man, had gone to the store to buy them for me. My underwear was plain white, like children's underwear. This was important because the fact he didn't give me provocative undergarments showed that he wasn't interested in me for sexual pleasure. That was good.

He laid out different outfits for me to choose from, and I picked the small white dress. It fit me perfectly and it was loose enough to wear comfortably over my tail.

"My name is Jasper Whitlock." My savior spoke. Jasper. The name echoed repeatedly in my head. "I'm not your owner. I'm not your enemy. I'm your friend."

"Jasper." I whispered, liking the way his name sounded when I said it.

"And according to your paperwork, your name is 8276." Jasper was now looking over the file that the lady at the mill had given him. "That's no name for a little girl."

I looked at him expectantly. He could call me anything he wanted to in that southern accent he had.

"You're a curious little one. And you look lost. Like you're in another world." He continued to watch me for a moment. My tail tapped quietly against the floor. "What about Alice? Like, Alice in Wonderland?"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I smiled and nodded my head anyway. Alice sounded a lot nicer than a jumble of numbers assigned at creation.

"Alright, well that's out of the way..." Jasper seemed to think for a moment. "Are you hungry, Alice?" My stomach made a loud gurgling noise as if on cue. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten. My stomach was so sunken in that I felt it had been weeks.

Jasper lifted me up and cradled me in one arm as he walked back down the spiral staircase. The house was gigantic, I felt that there was no way I would ever remember all the turns and levels that he led me through.

"This is our kitchen." He explained to me, stepping through a set of very large double doors. Chives was standing by the table with two large plates of steaming food set out with utensils and glasses.

"Lunch is served." He said with a polite smile, stepping away from the table.

Jasper set me down in one of the chairs and scooted me in so I could reach the table. The food in front of me looked unreal. I had often fantasized about flavorful meals like this. I glanced at Jasper as if to ask for his permission to eat, but he was already sitting down in his own chair. I picked up one of the utensils timidly. It was round and shiny.

"Alice, that isn't how you hold a spoon." Jasper's voice soothed from beside me. He leaned over, touching my tiny hand and spinning around the utensil so the round part was sticking out. "There you go... here, you scoop some in and hold it up to your mouth." He did the first bite for me, holding it to my lips to taste. I took a small bite off the metallic object and began to chew. Of course it was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted in my life.

I took the spoon from him and began to eat like he showed me. Within minutes my plate was empty and my stomach was thanking me. I had never felt so full or satisfied.

"You look a lot better already." Jasper smiled. He had already risen from his place at the table and was standing beside my chair. I looked up him cheerfully, reaching my hands up towards him like a toddler. I wanted him to hold me again.

I was scooped up into his arms and cradled against his warm t-shirt. "Chives, will you get the dishes? I'm going to brush Alice's teeth and get her settled in."

"Of course, Major."

We left the kitchen together and returned to the oversized bathroom. After my teeth were brushed and my breath was minty fresh, I sat patiently on the edge of the counter as he brushed his own.

"Jasper?" He looked at me expectantly. "Why does Chives work for you? Isn't that why you bought me?" Nekos were soley created for work and pleasure. I had never heard of another human working for another human before.

"Chives is a very good family friend." Jasper rinsed his mouth from the faucet and wiped it off with a hand towl. He didn't say anything else, picking me up again and carrying me out of the bathroom. My ears flattened to my head. I hoped I hadn't upset him.

We headed down another twisting hallway and into a large room with a high ceiling. Jasper set me down on a very big bed, higher up from the ground that I could reach. It was extremely soft and comfortable.

"This is my room," he told me, "and it's also your room." I gazed around aimlessly. "At least until we get your room finished."

When I looked back at Jasper, he was lying on his back across the velvet comforter. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling in a steady pattern.

Something in my chest urged me to crawl over to him. My savior welcomed me with open arms, and I curled up against his side. His gentle fingers rubbed the sensitive skin behind my ears. I closed my eyes and purred, happily realizing that I had found my place. My true home. My savior.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! This is a short chapter, I apologize, but there's more coming soon! Thank you cookies499, Cinderfire16, and deltagirl74 for your reviews! I hope this chapter sheds a little light on some of your questions. Age is not an important aspect in this story, because nekos are all generally young, small, and childlike. Alice is young and naive, and her character will progress as the story does. R&R! **

It had been three weeks since I had been adopted by Jasper. I learned many things about my savior, and he had learned many things about me.

Jasper was twenty years old. He attends California State and is in the top percentage of his class. He's lived on the estate we live on now since he was born. It was his parents estate, but they passed away when he was young. His father was a soldier in the army, and had the title of Major Whitlock. Jasper adopted that title to keep his father's memory alive, even though he wasn't even drafted. No one ever asked. Chives was his godfather as well as his butler. When his parents died, Chives took custody of Jasper and vowed to take care of him and the estate. Jasper had a fiance, Maria, but she had a drinking problem and they broke up when she wouldn't get help. He was always lonely, so he adopted me as a friend, to keep him company. He likes classic rock like The Scorpions and Aerosmith.

I didn't have as much personal background to share. I didn't know how old I was. Neko growth is much different than human growth. Age is nothing but a number and we have the mental capacity of a child until we mature completely. We get to be about three feet tall due to the genes we were created with. That was all part of the idea to make nekos inferior to the human species. I was smaller than most, and my growth seemed to top off at two foot nine. I was a pure bred neko, which meant that I was created from two neko, not the breeding of a neko and a human. That was a good thing. Jasper learned that I didn't remember anything about my parents or if I had any brothers or sisters. He learned that I didn't like heights or thunderstorms. I loved to be close. I got sad when he left me at home to go to school. Sometimes I cried at night. Most of all, Jasper learned that I loved him.

When Jasper had to go to school he left me in the hands of Chives. He was nice. He made me snacks and played with whatever toys or games I wanted. He said I was easy to like. I liked him too, but not as much as Jasper.

He was at school often, and sometimes when he got home he would brush past me and hurry to his room to do book work or online tests. I would wait patiently in another room, playing with my toys or watching the television. Hours later I'd hear Jasper's footprints rushing down the hall and he would scoop me up in his arms, kiss my head and apologize for being so busy. I didn't mind.

Sometimes on the weekends, we would lay in bed together for hours. He would brush my hair or stroke my ears and I would nuzzle up against his chest and purr into his neck. He told me how much he loved me.

My bruises had faded away and I was finally strong enough to stand again. Jasper would take me on walks with him and held me hand to make sure I wouldn't fall.

One morning we were walking in the park and a mean boy through a rock at me. Jasper picked me up and yelled something at the boy, and we hurried home after that. I asked him why the boy threw the rock at me and he said, "Alice, some people just can't behave themselves." I didn't understand.

Another instance we were at the supermarket and a woman with an apron told Jasper that I wasn't allowed in the store. She made him leave because he wouldn't send me outside. After that he told me, "I'll be damned if I ever go back to that store again." I still didn't understand.

Eventually Jasper couldn't take me anywhere. I didn't understand why until he said, "It's too dangerous. There are too many people that want to hurt you out there, and I can't let that happen." My Jasper loved me. But I was sad.

"It's time to wake up, Alice." Jasper's voice sounded in my feline ear and it twitched involuntarily. I stretched my arms out as far as they would go and rolled onto my back, looking at him with a scrunched up nose and furrowed brows. Mornings were never my favorite.

"Come on, girl. Breakfast is ready." Jasper placed his hand on my exposed stomach and rubbed it back and forth quickly. I purred and closed my eyes again. After a few light pats he got up and put on one of his old band t-shirts, changing and running his fingers through his hair. I was still sprawled out on the bed, waving my tail back and forth with amusement.

"What's that look for?" He smiled at me, approaching the bedside again and staring down at me. My ears flattened playfully and I let out a squeal as he began to tickle my sides, making me squirm around until I was nearly falling off the bed.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I squeaked, giggling and rolling back and forth until I slid down off the bed with a soft thump. The carpet was plush and soft, so it didn't hurt.

"Come on." He said again, a similar smile on his face. He offered me his hand, which I took graciously, and we went downstairs together.

Breakfast was grand and delicious, and I ate as much as my stomach could hold before setting down my fork and wiping my face. Jasper was shuffling around with papers at the table, obviously getting ready to head out for school. I was used to his schedule by now, but I still got lonely without him.

"Chives is going down to visit his brother out of town." He began to explain, sliding papers into folders. "He won't be back until tomorrow. I'm taking the Porsche, and I'll be back after my classes." I listened to him talk, biting my bottom lip. "Will you be okay here alone for a little while?"

He stared at me expectantly and I nodded my head, climbing down from the chair and sitting on the ground at his feet. I wasn't going to hopelessly cling to him; I knew he had things to do.

"Good girl." He reached down to pat my head and got up, stuffing his bag full of folders and heading for the door. I trailed behind slowly, pausing next to him at the door. "There's snacks in the cuboard, the remote is on the coffee table, keep all the doors locked-" He kneeled down and kissed my cheek lightly. "I know you'll be good."

"Bye, Jasper." I hugged him before he stood up again, watching him disappear out the door and close it firmly. For a few seconds I stood there, and then plopped down on the ground and frowned. I knew he would be home in a few hours, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to be different today.

I spent the morning watching the children's channel and dozing on the sofa. Television didn't interest me but often times it was the only thing to keep sound in the house and that comforted me when Jasper was away. I didn't like to be alone.

When I got bored of that I sat on the floor and flipped through the magazines on the coffee table. I couldn't read what they said but I liked looking at the pictures of the girls in pretty dresses.

Once I had gone through all the magazines I shuffled to the play room. It used to be a spare den but Jasper insisted I have somewhere to play without making a mess of the whole house. So Chives filled up the room with brand new toys, and even my own little couch with the Disney princesses on it.

I sat on my princess couch and curled my tail around my legs. It had seemed like hours since my Jasper left. I was lonely and without Chives the house was even more lonesome.

I decided that I would play with my dollhouse to keep my mind busy. The dollhouse across the room was as tall as I was, with twenty different rooms and all the furniture and accessories I could imagine. A lot of the time I would redecorate it again and again before even picking up the dolls to play with them.

The truth was, I was jealous of the dolls. They were human girls, not nekos like me. They didn't have cat ears or a long tail and they could reach all the high shelves in the kitchen. I hated them.

Before I realized it, the room had gotten dark. I looked out the window and noticed that the sun had gone down and the moon was out. There was a small light on in the corner of the play room but it only gave off a faint glow.

Night had already fallen and my Jasper wasn't home yet. I was worried, abandoning my dollhouse and walking out into the dark hallway. There were hardly any lights on in the house so I made my way blindly into the living room, standing by the front door. It was still locked.

An involuntary whimper escaped my mouth. What if Jasper wasn't coming home? What if he abandoned me? What if the bad men came to take me back to the mill? That unsettling feeling returned to my gut. What if something bad had happened to Jasper?

I found my way back to the sofa and climbed up into it, curling up against the arm. He would come back for me. I know he would.

**Did something bad happen to Jasper? Is Alice going to get herself into trouble trying to find him? Is Chives having fun with his brother Cilantro? Find out in the next installment of Lucky Cat!**

**Preview: Chapter 3 **

I wasn't going to have time to make it to the knife block. I had to think fast, because the men were coming around the corner. The only thing I could do was act on my animalistic instinct. I had to protect my territory.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Thank you for sticking with me! I've written much more already but I'm only putting a chapter up at a time. This one is another short one, but the next part is extra long! I'm glad you all enjoyed Chives' brother's name, I only did it for kicks. There is nothing suspicious about Chives visiting his brother. Enjoy!**

A loud thump from somewhere within the house startled me. I lay perfectly still as I listened for another sound, but heard nothing.

"Jasper?" I called quietly, my ears twitching nervously. Something didn't feel right. I waited for an answer but didn't recieve one. A moment later I heard footsteps down the hallway, and muffled voices. Neither of them belonged to my Jasper.

"Are you sure no one is home?"

"Positive. I've been watching the house all day."

"Where do you want to look?"

"In a house like this, there's bound to be valuables everywhere. Grab anything that looks like it may be worth something."

I felt a low growl in my throat. There were two men in our house and they were trying to rob us! Without Jasper or Chives here, I realized that I was the only one that could stop them. My heart pounded out of my chest as I slid down off the couch and landed silently on my feet. The blackness of the house would give me cover. But what would I do when I was face to face with them?

I looked around quickly, my neko eyes giving me the advantage of being able to see in the dark. There was nothing lying around that I could use as a weapon. I made my way silently to the kitchen. I knew I could find something in here to use.

I began to formulate a plan in my head. If I could climb onto the table, I could leap across to the island, and then onto the counter where the knife block was. Jasper always told me not to touch the knives, but this was important!

Just as I made myself up onto the table, I heard the men's voices again, this time closer. "Check this place out! This guy has got to be a millionaire."

I wasn't going to have time to make it to the knife block. I had to think fast, because the men were coming around the corner. The only thing I could do was act on my animalistic instinct. I had to protect my territory.

As the first men came around the corner, I leaped from the edge of the table onto his chest, unsheathing my claws and digging them into his chest. He let out a painful yowl of surprise and pain, trying to knock me off of him as he tumbled backwards to the tile ground.

I could feel my hands sticky with the blood that was just shed. As he writhed on the kitchen floor I kicked and hit him with all my strength, aiming for his face to keep him distracted.

The second man had entered the room without me noticing. He grabbed the back of my shirt and tore me away from his partner, tossing me into a wall. My body ached, but I pulled myself back onto my feet.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" shrieked the one I had taken down. "You didn't tell me he had one of those!"

"I didn't know." The other man seemed surprisingly calm, walking towards me and twisting his lip into a smile. "Hey there, pretty girl."

I bared my teeth and hissed at him.

"We're not going to hurt you." He continued, kneeling down and extending his hand out to me. "You're a tiny little thing, aren't you? I bet you cost a fortune."

My ear twitched. "Not as much as your hospital bill is going to be." I growled, showing him my teeth again.

"Wow, she's a fighter." He laughed, getting closer. I took a defensive step back and my back bumped into the wall. "You've got nowhere to run, kitty." He taunted me. "How about you come with us quietly, and we'll see just how much we can get out of-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud gunshot echoed off the kitchen walls. Blood was splattered across the tile, and the man in front of me toppled to the ground with a gaping wound in his chest.

I turned my head and saw Jasper in the doorway, a handgun gripped in one hand.

"Get the hell out of my house." he said in a darker tone of voice than I had ever heard before. The man I attacked was scrambling to his feet, grabbing his wounded friend and pulling him towards the back door. "If I ever see your faces again they're not even going to be able to find all your remains."

The two men were gone.

Jasper stared after them for a long moment before his attention turned towards me.

His expession softened immediately and he kneeled down in front of me.

"Are you okay, Alice?"

I was relieved to hear his voice. I nodded my head and reached forward to hug him. I could feel my entire body shaking, upset about the entire situation. He scooped me up into his arms and squeezed me tightly against him.

"You're bleeding." He said, touching the back of my head. I hadn't even noticed. It had probably happened when I hit the wall.

Ignoring the blood on the kitchen floor, Jasper carried me up the stairs to the large bathroom connected to the bedroom. First he washed the man's blood off my hands in the sink. Then he set me down on the floor and got into the cabinet under the sink, pulling out a roll of bandages and a bottle of liquid.

"I should have killed them." he said to himself. I tapped my tail against the tile and gazed up at him curiously. Jasper got down on his knees and poured the liquid onto a cotton swab, touching it to my head. It felt cold and stung for a moment but the pain disappeared quickly. Then he held a piece of gauze against the back of my head where my hair was matted down.

We sat in silence together for a long time. He occasionally removed the gauze to see how red it was, and after five or ten minutes I had stopped bleeding all together. He cleaned up the first aid equipment and picked me up again, carrying me back to the bedroom and setting me down on the bed.

Jasper didn't say anything. He walked over to the dresser and peeled off his clothes, changing into his pajamas and then returning to the bathroom to brush his teeth. I sat patiently, wrapping my tail around my legs and yawning.

He returned to the bed and turned off the overhead, leaving only the dull bedside lamp to glow the bedroom. The covers were peeled back, and Jasper climbed underneath them, preparing for sleep.

"Jasper?" I couldn't help myself. I had to know why he hadn't returned earlier that day.

"Hm?"

I flattened my ears nervously. "Why did you leave me for so long? Did I do something wrong?"

Jasper stared at me and his lip began to tremble unsteadily. For the first time that I had witnessed, my Jasper was crying.

"Oh, Alice... come here." He opened his arms and I immediately found my place against his chest, purring softly and trying to comfort him. His fingers touched my ear gently. "You did absolutely nothing wrong. You were very brave tonight. I'm sorry that I didn't come home earlier. I went to the library and lost track of time..." He looked utterly disappointed in himself. It hurt to see him so upset.

"I missed you." I said quietly, pushing my nose into his collar.

"I missed you too, Alice. I'll never leave you here alone again. I promise." Jasper didn't let me go for the rest of the night. We laid there in the dim light of the bedroom with our eyes closed, holding each other close in a calm, soothing silence.

**So the bad guys are gone, and Alice and Jasper are both safe and happy. But something big is about to change in the Whitlock home. Stay tuned and keep reviewing! **

**Preview for Chapter 4**

"Jasper." She said in a cool, southern accent that was the female, softer, more sexual version of his. "It's nice to see you again. It's been too long." She touched the side of his face. I could see in Jasper's eyes that he was thinking the same thing I was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's a treat for you! A new chapter two days in a row! Thank you everyone for your reviews! You all get cookies shaped like little kittens. c: Enjoy!**

The next few days Jasper insisted on staying home from college. I told him that I would be fine, especially with Chives back at the house, but he was paranoid and hesitant to let me leave his sight.

I understood. He loved me, and I loved him. He didn't want anything to happen to me, just like I didn't want anything to happen to him. But college was important, and he was skipping classes to stay home and play games with me.

"Are you bored with your toys?" he asked me one morning. "Do you want new ones?"

"No." I picked up one of my stuffed animals and squeezed it against myself. "I don't need any more toys." Ever since the night that the men broke in, Jasper was constantly trying to find ways to make it up to me.

I didn't want him to try and compensate for anything. He was my owner, my savior, and my Jasper. That's all I wanted.

It wasn't until the end of the week that I discovered why Jasper was being so sweet.

"Maria is coming over for dinner tonight." he said suddenly one day as we were eating breakfast. I dropped my fork with a loud clatter.

"Why?" I didn't understand why someone he didn't like anymore was coming to eat with us. Jasper had told me stories about Maria, and how her drinking habits caused them to break up. He didn't like her anymore, but he still had a photo of hers in his dresser. I knew because I had seen it. They had been engaged.

"She's back in town and she wanted to spend some time catching up with me." he explained, staring at his plate instead of looking at me. That meant he was nervous. "She said she's doing a lot better after going through rehab."

I was still unsure. Maria had hurt my Jasper in the past, emotionally and physically. I wasn't going to let her do that again.

"So I want you to take a bath and wear your nice white dress tonight." he continued. "Maria hasn't met you before, and I want you to give her a good impression. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head, returning my gaze to my food. I wasn't so hungry anymore.

The day seemed to pass quicker than usual. Jasper hurried from room to room, cleaning things or picking up anything that was left lying around. He even scolded me for leaving my toys out in the play room. I didn't understand. It wasn't like Maria was going to come in my play room and play with my doll house.

I did as he asked and took an extra long bath, making sure I was clean and smelled as nice as possible. By the time I had climbed out and put on my dress I could smell dinner cooking from downstairs, which meant that Maria would be arriving soon.

I shuffled down the stairs and walked into the living room. Jasper was sitting on the couch wearing a white collared shirt and a solid black tie, looking older and fancier than he usually did. His fingers were tapping against his knees nervously. I walked over and sat down on the ground beside him, resting my head on his leg.

"I'm okay, just nervous." Jasper told me, petting my head. "I haven't seen her in a year. A lot can change a person in one year."

Before I could say anything there was a knock at the front door. Jasper jumped to his feet, knocking me away from him in the process, and hurried to the door. I stood up and leaned against the arm of the couch as he unlocked and swung open the door.

The two of them embraced. Maria didn't look like she did in the picture in his dresser. She was thinner and prettier. The dark circles under her eyes were nonexistant and her skin was lightly tanned and full of color. It was hard to believe that woman was the same one in the picture.

"Jasper." she said in a cool, southern accent that was the female, softer, more sexual voice than his. "It's nice to see you again. It has been too long." She touched the side of his face. I could see in Jasper's eyes that he was thinking the same thing I was. Maria had transformed from a cold, graceless alcoholic into a beautiful woman.

Jasper cleared his throat and pulled away from her arms. "Maria." he said with a dimpled smile. "I'd like you to meet Alice." I wasn't expecting him to introduce me so soon and ruin their emotional reunion.

"Hi." I managed to say quietly, flattening my ears and hiding my tail between my legs. Maria was staring at me with very dark, unwelcoming eyes.

"Hello, Alice. Jasper mentioned he gave in and bought a neko, but I had no idea you would be so cute." Fake words. I could see it on her face that she despised me. "I'm sure you're just bright as a daisy in bed."

Jasper coughed. "No, it isn't like that." he said quickly. "Alice doesn't do those things. She's young and innocent."

"Oh. That's too bad." Maria turned away from me, and her fingers knotted themselves around Jasper's tie. I felt a low growl in my throat. She was trying to take him away from me; I was sure of it.

"Dinner is almost ready." Jasper took her arm and led her out of the living room and into the kitchen, leaving me alone by the couch. I didn't want to follow them because Maria obviously didn't like me.

I decided I would let them have dinner alone and when Maria left, I would climb into bed with Jasper and tell him what I thought about her.

Only Maria didn't leave after dinner. They watched a romantic movie and sat cuddled up against each other on the couch. Then they made their way upstairs to the bedroom. When I was sleepy enough I snuck up the stairs and peeked in the doorway of our dark bedroom. I could hear the bed frame squeaking and muffled voices. He loved her again.

I climbed back downstairs and went straight to the playroom. My princess couch was the only place that I would be safe from Maria. If my Jasper loved Maria again, he would grow tired of me. He would sell me back to the mill or throw me out on the streets.

The thought brought tears to my eyes and I curled my knees into my stomach, crying quietly into the arm of the couch. When exhaustion finally caught up to me it was morning, and I fell into a very light slumber in the rays of sunlight filtering in from the window.

What seemed like five minutes passed and I was being shaken awake by a hand on my shoulder. I hoped it was Jasper, come to sincerely apologize about leaving me without a bed to sleep on and forgetting that I hadn't had any dinner. But when I opened my heavy eyelids I was looking up at Chives. He had a gentle look on his face.

"Miss Alice. Your breakfast is ready."

I buried my face back into the arm of the couch. I didn't want breakfast, and I had a feeling Maria would still be hanging around the house.

"I can save it for later." Chives continued, picking up a blanket and draping it over top of me. I gave him a grateful look and curled up once more.

I slept through the day, as long as I could until my own growling stomach forced me to get up. I made my way to the kitchen, where Chives was opening a can of tuna: my favorite food.

"Good evening, Miss Alice. It looks like it's just going to be you and me tonight. Major Whitlock has gone out for dinner in the city." I could only guess who he had gone out to dinner with. "I'm making your favorite."

"Thanks Chives." I was hungry but I felt nauseous, the thoughts of abandonment creeping back into my mind. I sat at the table and waited for him to bring me a tuna sandwich, eating a few bites and looking at Chives from across the table. "Do you like Maria?" I asked him suddenly.

My question didn't seem to surprise him. He set his own sandwich down and sighed.

"Major Whitlock was very depressed for a long time before he adopted you." he explained. "I was very worried. Maria's behavior effected him badly. He loved her very much and she kept hurting him."

I listened thoughtfully, my ears twitching.

"She finally went to rehab, and it seems like Major Whitlock has never been happier. The old Maria he loved is back. Unfortunately... if I know anything about alcholism, I know it never leaves for good. There's always a chance of relapse."

I wasn't sure what that meant, but I still nodded. I didn't want Maria to stick around.

"Will Jasper make me leave?" I asked, my ears flat against my head. Chives gave me a look of disbelief.

"Of course not! This is your home too, Miss Alice. Give Major Whitlock your patience. He'll come around eventually."

We finished our sandwiches in silence.

It wasn't until very late in the middle of the night that Jasper came home. I wasn't waiting for him in his bedroom like he expected me to be, but he found me sitting on the floor in the play room with picture books laying around me.

"Alice! What are you doing awake, silly girl?" Jasper leaned down beside me, putting his arms out to hug me. I ignored him, flicking the tip of my tail irritably and flipping through the pages of a book. I could see him stiffen out of the corner of my eyes.

"Alice? It's very late." He said, touching my head. I wiggled away from his hand, pulling the picture book with me. "Alice, stop." He snapped, and my ears flattened to my head with the sharp scolding. I whimpered and turned to look at him. "What's wrong with you?" He asked seriously, staring into my eyes.

"I'm being good!" I cried defiantly. "I didn't bother you at all and I played by myself and I helped Chives clean the kitchen!" For some reason, I was angry. He shouted at me like I had done something wrong when I was doing everything right.

Jasper looked at me with surprise, like he hadn't expected me to have so much to say.

"It's after two am. It's hours passed your bedtime." he reminded me, as if changing the subject. "Come on-"

"I tried to sleep!" I cried again, pointing at my makeshift bed on the princess couch. "I couldn't fall asleep so I stayed up and read books." The pile of picture books around me were all open to different pictures. "I'm not sleeping in your bed anymore because now you want to sleep with Maria."

There. I had said it. Jasper's pained expression told me that he hadn't expected my words.

"Alice..." He sat on the ground next to me with his legs crossed, taking me under my arms and pulling me onto his lap. I didn't struggle, but I didn't purr or rub against him like I usually would. "Listen. Maria is a lot different now that she got help. She's a lot better now."

"She doesn't like me." I whispered, resting my cheek against his chest.

"Sure she does! She thinks you're wonderful. I've always loved Maria, and it was just the alcohol that made her the way she was. It's all better now, and... I love her again."

"I thought you loved me." My ears twitched uncomfortably. Jasper sighed and began to stroke my hair softly.

"I do love you, Alice. I love you very much. But my love for you is very different than my love for Maria." I didn't understand. There were two kinds of love? And I wasn't good enough for one of them?

I became jealous. What did Maria have that I didn't? There were a lot of things. She was tall. Beautiful. Human. I frowned and hid my face in Jasper's shirt.

"That's enough of this. We are going to bed right now." He said sternly, picking me up as he stood.

"Wait." I reached down for the picture book at his feet. It was open to the page of a crying duckling. Jasper picked it up and looked at the cover.

"The Ugly Duckling?" He read aloud. I nodded my head and took it from his hands, hugging it.

Jasper took me upstairs to his bedroom, laying me on the bed and getting me my pajamas to wear out of the dresser. "Arms up." he said. I put my arms straight up and he pulled my shirt off over my head. He put on my Hello Kitty nightgown and helped me shimmy out of my pants, tossing them in the hamper afterwards.

He undressed into his plaid pajama pants and got onto the bed. I crawled closer and sat beside him, holding out the book towards him.

"You want me to read it?" He looked down at me. I nodded. I couldn't read, I could only see the pictures. Jasper leaned back against the headboard and pulled me closer so I was sitting back against his chest. "The Ugly Duckling." He opened the cover to the first page and began the story.

It was about a little grey chick who looked different than the bright yellow chicks around him. He followed them around and tried to fit in, but he still didn't belong. He didn't have a real family, so he was sad.

I felt bad for the little grey duckling, until I realized that he was a lot like me. I didn't have a real family either. I didn't quite belong.

"But then the baby chick grew up and realized he wasn't a duckling after all. He grew into a beautiful, graceful swan, and found his family. He had found his one true place, and lived happily ever after."

By the time Jasper finished the story I was on the edge of sleep. I liked the story, because I compared myself to the ugly duckling that didn't quite belong anywhere. Before my eyes shut for the last time, I heard Jasper speaking softly in my ear.

"Goodnight, Alice."

**What happens next? Is Jasper going to give his neko the boot? Is Maria really over her alcohol addiction? Does Alice really hate Maria, or is she just jealous? Why is The Ugly Duckling such a sad story? Stay tuned for the next chapter of Lucky Cat! Nyaa! C:**

**Preview for Chapter 5**

The noise caused Jasper to turn his head and quickly set down the mug he had gotten for me. "Alice! What happend?"

I knew exactly what had happened. I could still feel those fake, acryllic, neon pink nails against my back.

"She pushed me!" I cried defiantly, pushing myself back up and turning to glare at Maria. The woman's eyes widened in surprise and she glanced at Jasper.

"I would never do such a thing!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! A big thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying Lucky Cat! Here we go, Chapter 5! **

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The next morning I woke up on the completely opposite side of the bed than Jasper. This was unusual because usually we laid close when we slept, but I was tangled into the blankets and Jasper was on his other side with his back facing me.

I sat up and pricked my ears, listening for any strange noises in the house. It was quiet, except for Jasper's quiet snoring. I began to settle back down into my nest of blankets and pillows until my eyes caught sight of the strange state of the window.

It was complety white. I blinked a few times, making sure I wasn't still asleep, and surely enough everything outside appeared to be covered in a blanket of white fluff.

I scrambled out of bed and rushed down the spiral stairs, grabbing the front door and yanking it open. A burst of cold air almost knocked me backwards.

"Jasper!" I cried uncertainly, unsure of what to make of it. Seconds later the familiar footsteps of my savior came rushing down the stairs.

"Alice! What's wrong?" He said, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

I pointed out the front door. "Look!"

Jasper stared out the front door and let out a small laugh. I didn't understand what was so funny, but he crouched down beside me and put his arm around me.

"It's snow, Alice." Well, I didn't know what that meant. "When it gets really cold outside, the rain freezes and turns to snow, and then it sticks to the ground."

I continued to stare out the door, pulling away from Jasper and making my way onto the porch. The cold air nipped at my skin uncomfortably, but I was determined to investigate.

I got down on my knees and reached forward, grabbing a handful of snow in my palm and picking it up. My fingers were bright pink and it was so cold that I dropped it rather quickly.

"Come on, that's no way to go out in the snow." Jasper smiled, beckoning me to return inside. I stumbled in the door, reaching for his shirt. He picked me up.

"You need some proper clothes to go outside." he continued, carrying me down the hallway towards the laundry room.

It was a large room with three closets and a lot of space for all of the clothes that didn't fit in Jasper's closet upstairs. There were two washers, two dryers, and a special bin where clothes fell down from chutes in the ceiling.

Jasper set me down on one of the washers and began to look through one of the closets. He pulled out a small pair of sweat pants, a long sleeved shirt, a jacket, a coat, and a pair of boots. All of them seemed to be perfectly my size.

"I had Chives get these when you first arrived. Snow days are tricky, you never know when they'll sneak up on you." He grinned, helping me out of my Hello Kitty nightgown and into my snow attire. When I was bundled up and warm, he set me down on the ground and pulled on a coat himself, as well as a pair of warm sweat pants.

We made our way back to the front door as I pulled on the pair of gloves that he had given me to wear. Even my fingertips were warm. The only part of me that wasnt covered was my tail, which had its own insulation, and my face.

We ventured outside into the cold weather and I ran excitedly into the snow in front of the porch. It was soft and fluffy, not hard like it looked from the distance. I fell down a few times, getting up and being covered in snow, but my clothes kept me warm and I was having fun. Jasper rolled in the snow with me, made "snow angels" and tossed handfuls of snow at me as I tried to run away. We even rode down the hill in a sled! I was having so much fun that I didn't notice a bright red car pull up into the long winding driveway.

"Maria! What are you doing here?"

I poked my head up over the snow and felt an unimaginable amount of anger in my chest. The woman climbing out of the car was wearing a small white coat with fur lining the hood and boots with large six-inch heels. I glanced at Jasper, who had dropped all interest in our snow activities and hurried to go meet her by the vehicle.

"I wanted to see you before it snowed again! At least, if it snows now, we'll be snowed in together." she said, wrapping her arm around my Jasper. "I couldn't just leave my Jazzy here all alone."

"Gross." I hissed under my breath, lowering myself into the shelter behind a snowbank. I was beginning to dislike Maria less and less. The more she came around, the more she took Jasper away from me, and I think she was doing it on purpose.

Jasper said something about being so glad to see her. They began to kiss, and I took that as my cue to go back inside. I felt the familiar pang of betrayal inside me, and his words from the night before rang in my ears.

"I do love you Alice. I love you very much. But my love for you is very different than my love for Maria."

I trudged back inside, shaking the snow off of myself and taking off layers of clothing. Chives heard me wrestling with my jacket and came to help me undress, putting my wet clothes in the dryer and fetching me warm, dry ones.

From the laundry room I heard Jasper and Maria coming inside, giggling and laughing and talking to each other like they hadn't spoken in years. My ears flattened to my head and I tried not to listen. Chives looked at me with a concerned expression, handing me a warm shirt to slide on.

"Patience, Miss Alice." Chives reminded me lightly. I nodded unhappily, jumping down off the dryer.

I caught up to Jasper on his way to the kitchen. It was still early and I hadn't eaten, so my stomach was making unsettling growling noises. Jasper was leaning against the counter getting a cup of hot cocoa for Maria. I could smell the sweet chocolate aroma but it was far too high to reach.

I tugged on Jasper's pantleg, and he glanced down at me. My stomach growled again, and my lip trembled into a pout.

"Do you want some?" He asked me, leaning down to pick me up and setting me on the counter. I could feel Maria's eyes on me and shifted uncomfortably. I smiled and watched as Jasper began to prepare mine, walking across to the other side of the kitchen to get another cup.

I suddenly felt a strong pair of hands shove me forward. My entire body was pushed roughly off the counter, and if my hands hadn't shot out in front of me to catch my fall, I would have hit the tile floor face first.

The noise caused Jasper to turn his head and quickly set down the mug he had gotten for me. "Alice! What happened?"

I knew exactly what had happened. I could still feel those fake, acryllic, neon pink nails against my back.

"She pushed me!" I cried defiantly, pushing myself back up and turning to glare at Maria. The woman's eyes widened in surprise and she glanced at Jasper.

"I would never do such a thing!" she gasped in defiance.

"She's lying! She pushed me!" I repeated, looking to Jasper for support. He had to believe me. His eyes shifted between mine and Maria's for a moment and then sighed heavily. Without answering, he poured hot cocoa into the cup and handed it down to me.

"Why don't you go to the playroom?" he suggested in a voice that sounded a little too fake. It felt as if he was saying, "Run along and play now, the adults have to talk about important things."

My tail hung between my legs sadly and I turned around, leaving the kitchen with my steaming cup of cocoa. I didn't like the way Jasper treated me when Maria was around. Most importantly, I don't think he believed me about Maria shoving me off the counter. My wrists still ached from the impact.

I fled to the playroom, drinking my beverage on my princess couch and staring out the window in the snow. It was starting to fall from the sky again in tiny little white specks and for some reason, it calmed me.

The day seemed to pass slower than usual. Whenever I went to see if Maria had left, the two of them were doing something new, extending her visit into an entire day, and later into the night.

As they went off to bed with their stomachs full of pasta and bread, I went back to my princess couch with an empty stomach and tears in my eyes. Anyone could see what was happening.

Now that Jasper had Maria again, he didn't want me anymore.

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**Nooooo! It's not what you think, Alice! Jasper loves you, I promise! D: So Maria is back in the ball game, and it looks like she doesn't want Alice to stick around... will Alice fight to stay with Jasper? Will Jasper fight for Alice to stay? Keep on reading! R&R, it gives me inspiration to keep writing! :D **

**Preview for Chapter 6**

Nekos weren't taught how to read and write on purpose. The humans wanted us to be an easily dominated species, and giving us those abilities could put us at an advantage. Most nekos didn't even care that they couldn't read signs or write their names. Well, not me. I was going to learn how and then maybe I would be one step closer to being what I wanted to be.

Human.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Thanks for reading Lucky Cat and being such faithful followers! My boyfriend is staying with me for a few days so I don't know when the next chapter will be written... not to mention I have the ACTs this weekend! Ahhh! I have a love/hate relationship with being a senior...**

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I couldn't sleep. It was cold and uncomfortable sleeping on the princess couch, and I only had one blanket to cover myself up with. I didn't dare go upstairs and ask Jasper to let me sleep with him. Besides, Maria was there, and they were probably naked and making love.

After continuously rolling from side to side, I finally gave up on the thought of sleep and walked over to the window, staring outside. The new snow had covered even more of the ground, and the snowman we had made this morning was already up to his stomach in new snow.

I sat down in the middle of the room with my stuffed cat, the one that Jasper had given me just hours after arriving as a sort of comfort animal. I squeezed the fluff against my chest and sighed.

If Jasper didn't want me anymore, he would probably sell me to someone else or give me back to the mill. Although Chives said he would never make me leave, I couldn't imagine staying if my owner didn't even want me.

My tail curled around my waist as if it was trying to comfort me. Jasper wasn't mean enough to send me back to the mill. He saw how awful the conditions were there, and I was on the edge of starvation when he adopted me. There was no way he would send me back to a life like that.

But would Maria?

Eventually sleep came naturally to me and I curled up in the middle of the carpet, tucking my stuffed cat into my arms and holding it close. I wasn't even aware that I had begun to dream.

_I shifted uncomfortably in a tight space. It was very dark, and I couldn't see no matter how many times I blinked my eyes. My limbs were all tucked into each other. I couldn't move, and my breath felt short in my lungs. _

_"Help me!" I cried, kicking and pushing at all angles of my prison. There was no use. I hardly had the strength to continue fighting. "Help!" _

_Two voices speaking interrupted my cries. One of them was the icy cold voice of Maria. The other was the smooth warm voice of Jasper. _

_"Are you sure this is for the best?" Jasper said, sounding nervous or upset. _

_"That mongrel bit me! Do you know how many hours I spent in that hospital? I almost lost my hand-" _

_"It wasn't her fault though, you hit her-"_

_"She deserved it! If you ask me, Jasper, you never taught that thing any discipline, and that's why she turned out so rotten."_

_"Alice isn't rotten, she's just-"_

_"We're taking her back, and that's final. You don't want me to get hurt again, do you Jazzy?"_

_There was a long silence, where I could only hear my own breathing. _

_"We're here." The sound of two car doors opening rang in my ears. Then a third. And suddenly the box I was trapped in was being moved. Carried. _

_"Jasper!" I cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise! Don't take me back to the mill! Please!"_

_Jasper didn't answer. The box landed hard on the ground and then I was still. The sound of car doors closing. The sound of an engine starting. The sound of my Jasper driving away._

_Light shined suddenly into the box when the lid was removed. I slowly turned my head upwards and met eyes with the bad man, who was smiling down at me with a twisted, crooked smile and a shimmer of cruelty in his eyes. _

_"Welcome back, you worthless piece of sh-"_

I awoke with a start, finding myself still lying in the middle of the play room. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my t-shirt was sticking to me with sweat. The light of morning shined into the window and blinded me, and I couldn't find myself to look away.

Is that what would happen? Maria would convince Jasper to get rid of me? I felt sick to my stomach.

A faint echo throughout the house caught my attention. Jasper was calling my name. For a moment I wondered if I should go to him, but I hesitantly held back. I crawled beneath the pool table against the wall and brought my knees up to my chest, not wanting Jasper or anyone else to find me.

I listened to the footsteps coming down the staircase and walking into the play room. From my hiding spot I could see Jasper's socked feet standing where I had been lying before, next to my stuffed cat.

"Huh. I wonder where she is." He said thoughtfully. Seconds later, a voice called from the doorway.

"I don't think she likes me." Maria's voice was full of disappointment and fake hurt.

"Of course she does. She's just shy." Not even close. I hated Maria. I hated her and I wanted her to leave my Jasper alone.

"Well she is just like a big cat, so maybe she doesn't like anyone." Maria continued with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Come on Jasper, we're going to miss the movie."

Just a big cat.

"Alice loves everyone." Jasper corrected her. "She's just acting strange."

The first chance that I got Jasper alone I would tell him how Maria didn't want me around. I would tell him how Maria shoved me off the counter on purpose and I would tell him about my nightmare.

Eventually I watched two set of feet exit the playroom and I came out of my hiding place. I grabbed my stuffed cat from the ground and shuffled over to the pile of picture books that had been left on the floor from last night. Scattered among them were a few chapter books, ones that I had pulled out without realizing.

I picked one up and opened it. The tiny lettering looked like a foreign language to me, but I could pick out little words here and there that I understood. I decided that I would teach myself how to read.

Nekos weren't taught how to read and write on purpose. The humans wanted us to be an easily dominated species, and giving us those abilities could put us at an advantage. Most nekos didn't even care that they couldn't read signs or write their names. Well, not me. I was going to learn how and then maybe I would be one step closer to being what I wanted to be.

Human.

I studied the chapter book for the rest of the day, spelling them out and trying to write some of the words in a notebook. My handwriting was undoubtedly messy, but I was proud of myself. I stared down at the paper in front of me and read it out loud.

"Hello. Name is Alice. I am neko." Reading it out loud didn't sound right, so I added a few more words and tried again. "Hello. My name is Alice. I am a neko."

I glared down at the paper and my grip on the pencil tightened. I didn't want to be a neko. I didn't want to be treated like a child or get rocks thrown at me in the park.

Without thinking about it, I made a large line through my last sentence and began to scribble beneath it. I was so concentrated that I didn't realize I was writing everything perfectly and with little thought.

I set my pencil down and stared at my work. The letters were crooked and different sizes, but it was eligible. With a deep breath I read the paper out loud.

"Hello. My name is Alice. I'm a cat but that doesn't mean I'm not human too."

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**Well, this is getting interesting, isn't it?! Alice is one determined little kitten! Keep reading! R&R for a kitten-shaped cookie! c:**

**Unfortunately there is no preview for the next chapter because... well, it hasn't been written yet! Stay tuned folks! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, here is Chapter 7! Thank you for all the beautiful reviews! You all get kitten-shaped cookies! Here we go!**

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Jasper returned later that afternoon. I was sitting in the living room on the couch, watching a childrens show with Chives. He had made me a tuna sandwich to make up for my lack of dinner the night before and he promised to make grilled salmon for supper. That heightened my mood a bit.

I sunk my teeth into the sandwich at the same time that the front door opened. My eyes flickered over to him for a moment, realizing that he looked cold and kind of upset.

"Major Whitlock, is something wrong?" Chives stood up and left my side to take Jasper's coat, hanging it up in the closet beside the door.

"No, everything is fine." He insisted, walking to the couch and plopping down beside me. My ears twitched, and I set down my sandwich on its plate. "Hi, girl." My ears twitched again, but I didn't answer. He let out a short sigh. "I know you're mad at me."

I looked at him again, unsure of what to say. Yes, I was upset that he had been neglecting me. But no, I wasn't mad. Deep down I understood that I was a neko, and that meant that I was bound to stay loyal to my owner, no matter what. That's why we were created.

"I'm sorry, Alice." Jasper opened his arms, and I crawled onto his lap, laying across it and resting my head on the other side of the couch. He scratched my back gently, and it comforted me.

"Is Miss Maria staying for dinner?" Chives asked, still standing beside the front door. Jasper shook his head.

"I took her home." he explained. "I have a lot of college work to catch up on tonight." I sat back up and got off the couch, grabbing my sandwich to finish eating. I didn't mind if schoolwork took up his time, as long as Maria wasn't around.

Jasper stood as well and left the room. I didn't watch where he went. My eyes focused back on the television, although I was aware of Chives following after him.

My sensitive ears could pick up pieces of their conversation.

"Major Whitlock, have you realized that you have been neglecting to care for Miss Alice?"

"Neglecting her? Maybe she didn't sleep in my bed last night, but that is hardly neglect, Chives..."

"She is a big responsibility and I do my best to care for her, but you are the one who adopted her. She expects you to be the one to spend time with her, not me."

"I've been busy-"

"Busy snogging Miss Maria? Pardon me for saying so Major but I do believe that is a downright bad excuse to let a little girl go to bed crying and hungry. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

There was a long silence, followed by hurried footsteps out of the kitchen, through the living room, and upstairs towards the bedroom. Chives slowly entered the living room again and I could feel his eyes on me.

"Forgive him, he isn't feeling quite himself." He smiled down at me. I blinked a few times and nodded my head in understanding.

Chives returned to the kitchen, and by the scent wafting through the room he was beginning on dinner. I decided to get off the couch and follow my Jasper upstairs. Whether he was angry or not, it was my job as his neko to make him feel better.

I pushed the door open and shuffled into the middle of the room. Jasper was on the bed pulling books out his bag with his back facing me. I waited patiently where I was until he turned around.

"Oh, Alice." He sounded relieved that it hadn't been someone else. "Do you need something?"

"No." I squeaked, rocking back and forth.

"I have a lot of work to do." he said, turning back to face his backpack on the bed. "I need some quiet."

"I won't be loud." I ignored the fact that he was obviously trying to brush me away. "Are you upset?"

"No, Alice. I just want to be left alone right now." I could sense the frustration in his voice.

"I won't bother you." I padded up next to him, wrapping my arms around his legs. "I love you, Jasper."

Jasper looked down at me with a gaze of uncertainty and patted my head, but that was it. No "I love you too, Alice". No sign of affection. Just a simple pat on the head, and then he returned his attention to his schoolbooks. I could feel my heart sinking into my stomach.

The rest of the afternoon was painfully lonely. Jasper refused to come down to dinner, so Chives and I sat together at the table and ate salmon together. When I asked if he thought Jasper would like his supper brought up to him, Chives said that it was probably best that I leave him alone.

That night at dinner, Chives introduced a new idea to me. Seeing as there were plenty of spare bedrooms in the large mansion, and seeing as Jasper seemed to want his space, Chives offered to help turn one of the rooms into my own bedroom. At first, the idea scared me. I didn't want to sleep alone in a big room all by myself. But Chives assured me that I would be safe, and that I could decorate the room however I wanted to. By the end of supper, I was looking forward to getting my own bedroom.

The clock chimed ten times which meant it was past my bed time. Chives ran a warm bath for me and prepared my bedclothes, laying them out where I could reach them after I got clean.

Warm, damp, and fuzzy-eared, I made my way down the hallway and towards Jasper's room. Gently and silently, I nudged the door open. The dim desk lamp was the only light in the room. Jasper was hunched over with his nose buried in a text book.

"Jasper?" I mewed from the doorway. His blonde hair jerked slightly as if I had startled him.

"H-huh? What?" From where I stood, it looked like he was on the verge of sleeping sitting up. He realized that it was me speaking to him through the dark and I barely heard him sigh. "What do you want?"

"I'm sleepy." I told him, looking at the bed and wondering if he would mind me being in the same room when he was so grumpy.

"Oh... oh yeah, of course." Jasper shook his head and stood up, knocking his chair backwards in the process. He stood next to the bed and began to pull the blankets back, which I took as a sign that he was welcoming me in. I eagerly hurried over and jumped onto the bed.

"Are you still doing your homework?" I asked curiously, crawling beneath the blankets and tucking myself into them comfortably, nuzzling my head into the pillow.

"Yes, I have a lot more to do and I have an exam first thing in the morning, so you have to go straight to sleep so I can study." he told me gently, tucking the blankets around me. He leaned down to kiss my forehead, brushing damp strands of dark hair off of my forehead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I closed my eyes and tried very hard to fall asleep, but the sound of papers shuffling kept me up. Still, for Jasper's sake, I pretended that I was asleep until he came to bed himself, about midnight. His warm body next to mine felt familiar and pleasant.

Morning came quicker than I expected and I jumped awake when the alarm went off on the bedside table. Jasper rolled over and slammed it into silent submission.

Since I hadn't slept well through the night, I knew that most of the day would be spent catching up on sleep. In fact, I fell back to sleep before Jasper even came out of the bathroom.

When I did wake up, the room was silent and I assumed Jasper had already left for his exam. I ventured downstairs and found Chives in the living room, and as soon as I reached the bottom step he stood up and smiled towards me like he had been waiting for me all morning.

"Miss Alice." he greeted formally. "Your lunch is ready if you are hungry."

"No thank you. I'm not very hungry." I argued. "Did Jasper leave for his test?"

"He did indeed." Chives said cooly, sounding as if he wasn't very happy with him. "He will return this afternoon. Would you like to go shopping for your new room while he is away?"

Instantly, my ears pricked up. I hadn't really left the house since Jasper said it was too dangerous, but I missed the hustle and bustle of town. Besides, I trusted Chives and knew that he would take care of me.

"Yes please!"

The two of us left soon after that. I put on my favorite outfit and brushed my pixie-like hair nicely, all the while wondering what kind of stores we would visit and what kind of things we would buy. Chives decided to drive the SUV today so there would be enough space for all of our buyings.

Four hours later, the vehicle was filled with furniture, paint cans, and anything else that I pointed out in the stores we visited. Two hours after that, Chives and I were painting the bedroom I picked out. He did the walls, and I ran a paintbrush over the trimming. By nightfall, my new room was a brilliant shade of violet.

While finishing the second coat of paint, Jasper stepped into the door with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on?"

"We're painting my new room!" I exclaimed. I expected him to smile and be as happy as I was, but instead his lips curved downward into a frown.

"Whose decision was this?" he asked. "Since when did you want your own room?" Now his eyes were on me. I couldn't understand. Why wasn't he happy?

"You were always busy, I thought..." I dropped the paintbrush that I was holding; luckily it landed on a piece of plastic that we had put down. Purple paint splattered from the bristles onto Jasper's shoes, speckling them with color. "Oh, I'm so sorry..."

Jasper glanced down at his shoes but his expression didn't change.

"Major Whitlock, we agreed that it would be best for Miss Alice to have her own room seeing as Maria's visits have become more frequent. Despite that fact, Miss Alice is a growing young girl, and she needs her space just as much as any child does."

Jasper locked eyes with Chives for a long moment. I could see the tension between them rising with every breath. It was weird because I had never seen them so frustrated with each other before.

"This is what you want?" Jasper looked at me. I shrugged uncomfortably, unsure of what he wanted my answer to be. "Okay. I'll keep the door open at night." He left the room just as quickly as he had come in. Chives leaned down to place his hand gently on my shoulder.

"Give him patience, and he will come around." He reminded me. I sat on the ground next to the paintbrush that I had dropped and continued to paint the trim of the wall.

Within the next few days my bedroom was ready. There was a small bed with a white canopy and a dresser to hold all of my clothes. Bins against the wall held my favorite toys and I had a bookshelf and a table to color on. It seemed perfect, but when it came to sleep in there for the first night, I felt uncomfortable and scared.

I was used to sleeping next to Jasper in his large bed. Having a bed to myself was lonely, and sitting with the lights off made shadows from outside dance across the walls like long windy monsters. I got so spooked that I had to turn the light on and climb back in bed before something beneath the mattress grabbed my ankles.

I listened to the wind whistling against the window and trembled under my covers. Just before sleep came over me, my door opened slowly and Jasper poked his head in.

"Alice, it's late. Why are you still awake?" He put his hand over the light switch, and I silently prayed that he wouldn't turn the lights off.

"It's scary." I told him, glancing at the window. Jasper walked inside and sat down on the edge of my bed. I climbed into his lap and leaned against him, purring against his chest.

"There is nothing to be afraid of." he assured me. "Moving into a new room can be scary, but this is a good thing."

I didn't answer, but nuzzled closer against him. He petted me behind my ears and brushed his lips against the top of my head.

"I have an idea." After setting me aside, he stood up and left the room. A moment later he returned with a small device, sticking it into an outlet beside my bed. A lightbulb lit up and illuminated the corner. "A nightlight," he explained, flicking the switch off. The room was still dimly lit with a comforting glow. "It will help you sleep better."

The tiny lightbulb reassured me that my room was safe afterall. Jasper tucked me into bed and set my stuffed cat in my arms.

"I had a reason to come talk to you." Jasper said quietly. I tilted my head slightly, urging him to go on. "I know that I have been neglecting you lately, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, don't ever think that you don't belong here."

"You won't make me go back to the mill?" I asked quietly. Jasper shook his head.

"Not ever. I'm going to try and spend more time with you, Alice. I'll try to be a better friend for you. Once I finish my exams I will have a lot more free time and we can spend time doing whatever you'd like, does that sound good?"

It did.

"What about Maria?" I whispered timidly.

"Alice... Maria is a part of my life now too. You'll have to get used to having her around. Maybe if you spent time with her you would like her better?"

I wouldn't.

"She really did push me off the counter." I felt bad bringing it up again, but I wanted him to understand that it wasn't my fault that Maria and I didn't get along.

Jasper sighed.

"I think it's time for bed." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, making sure I was tucked in warmly, and walked to the doorway. "Sweet dreams, Alice."

He walked out of the room and left me in the dim glow of the nightlight.

**So there we are! Little Alice is growing up, getting her own room and learning how to tell Jasper how she feels. If only he would be a little better at listening... stay tuned for Chapter 8! Rate and review, you guys are my angels!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you everyone for all of the reviews! I apologize that updating chapters is taking so much time- I hardly have any time to write other than the weekends, and I have theatre regional competitions this coming weekend so... I don't know when the next chapter will be! Keep enjoying Lucky Cat! C:**

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In three weeks, I had grown seven inches. It was around this time that I hit a major growth spurt and my height shot up, and continued to shoot up. Chives had already had to buy me two new sets of clothes because I kept growing out of my old ones. Jasper didn't seem surprised. I think the lady that had sold me to him at the mill had warned him of our height changes, once we reach a certain point of our lives.

Call it puberty, if you will. I looked different, felt different, and I began to act different as well. I was no longer amused with colorful blocks or dollhouses. I wanted to color inside the lines and make my own sandwiches. I had mastered the skill of writing and was close to mastering reading as well. With Chives and Jasper's help, I had become a very smart individual.

Nonetheless, I was still a child, and Jasper still treated me like one. Even though I was becoming much more independent, he was still there to tuck me in at night. He was never a father-like figure to me, but Jasper was loving and took care of me. We had a strong bond between neko and owner.

In the time that I had grown, so had Jasper and Maria's relationship. They were constantly together; going on dates, visiting each other's homes, and sometimes spending the night together. I learned it was best to avoid Jasper during these times. Most of those days I would spend time with Chives, helping him cook or clean, playing games, and watching television.

Maria still didn't like me, and I still didn't like her. She hadn't done anything lately like push me off a counter, but she would give me looks of annoyance or hatred, especially now that I was starting to grow up. All behind Jasper's back, of course.

I reckoned that in another few weeks, if I kept growing like I was, I would almost be as tall as she was.

The more I grew, the more desperately I wanted to leave the house. I would beg Chives to let me go with him to the store, and sometimes I would go for walks by myself when Jasper was away. He still didn't like me leaving the house, but my will to get out and explore the vast world was overpowering.

On this particular morning, Jasper was at college and Chives was making his usual rounds around the house. The sun was shining in the windows and it looked like a nice day to take a walk, so I put on my favorite dress and strolled out the front door. I wouldn't go far.

The location of the Whitlock Estate was tucked very far back into a beautiful valley. The walk to the main road was a good mile long, but my feet hardly felt it. I liked enjoying the scenery, breathing the fresh air, and being off by myself.

I walked down the main road and headed towards the park. It wasn't a dingy run-down park like some are. It had polished benches and the nicest swings and a jungle-gym that children could swing from. I never went on it because the height of the bars bothered me.

The park seemed to be empty today, so I took the chance to sit on the swing and start rocking back and forth. The breeze ruffled the smooth black fur on my ears whenever I swung forward. There was a nice feeling of peace and tranquility there.

The nice feeling disappeared when my ears picked up a distant whimpering. I stopped my swinging by scraping my shoes across the dirt beneath me, and then hopped off into the grass. It was quiet.

I was sure that I had heard something, so I began to walk a few steps across the park. After a moment, I heard the noise again. This time it was closer. Giving a quick look around, I saw what looked like the end of a furry appendage hanging out from underneath the slide. Deep in my mind, I already knew what it was.

"Are you okay?" I forced myself to ask. The whimpering stopped and the tail disappeared from view. However, the small figure taking shelter beneath the slide turned around to face me. I could see bright amber eyes glowing back at me, much like my own. It was a little boy's voice that answered me.

"Y-yeah."

I furrowed my brow. "Well, you don't sound okay. Why don't you come out here?" I offered my hand to him, but he didn't take it. Instead, he seemed to shrink back slightly. "What's the matter?" I continued, crouching down in front of his hiding place.

"I don't w-want my owner to find me."

In my time away from the mill, I had almost forgotten how nekos were typically treated. I was especially lucky to end up in a home with a caring owner. This neko obviously didn't land himself in a pleasant situation.

"No one is around." I assured the small voice, giving another quick glance around. "Come on, I'll show you a better place to get comfortable."

He seemed hesitant, but eventually the small neko child crawled out from beneath the slide. He was smaller than I was, but bigger than I had been when I first came to Jasper. His hair was a brilliant auburn color and his ears and tail matched it. Among his appearance I noticed several bruises on his face, down his neck, and on his bare arms. I was afraid to see what sort of bruises were hidden beneath his clothes.

I quickly took the boy's hand and began to pull him back towards the road to Jasper's home. I knew that I couldn't really help him, but I could at least give him something to eat and calm him down a bit.

He trudged along beside me, nervously looking around as if he was afraid someone was going to jump out and grab him at any moment. Once we had left the main road and were making our way up the long driveway, he began to speak again.

"Are you a stray?"

I looked at him and shook my head.

"No, I have an owner too." I told him. "But my owner is very nice. He's my best friend."

The concept didn't seem to settle in the boy's head.

"Your owner doesn't hit you?"

"Never."

"And your owner doesn't yell at you?"

"Nope."

The boy became quiet again. I decided it was my turn to ask questions.

"What's your name?"

"0426." He responded, and I cringed. I hadn't thought about our assigned numbers since I left the mill. In fact, I had almost forgotten about them.

"You don't have a real name?" I asked, playing with the tip of my tail.

"M-my brother used to call me Edward." His shiny red ears flattened down to his head. "But he died a long time ago."

I nodded in understanding. From the boy's appearance, it seemed like he had been in an abusive home for a long while. Any amount of time had to be dreadfully long for him.

"Well, I'll call you Edward then. I'm Alice." By this time we were almost to the house, and Edward could see the outline of the mansion through the trees.

"Is this where you live?" he looked up in awe, and picked up his pace. I giggled and nodded quickly, keeping up with him.

"Yeah! It's just me, Jasper, and Chives. Jasper is at college today, but Chives is here and he can make us something to eat." I could tell that Edward was hungry by the way his stomach rumbled at the mere mention of food.

We made our way up to the porch and I pushed the door open, calling inside- "I'm home!" Within a moment, Chives came out of the kitchen with a smile on his face.

"Good afternoon, Miss Alice. Oh!" He turned his attention to the bruised boy beside me. "Who is this?"

"This is Edward." I said casually, pulling him inside by the arm. "I met him in the park. Can he stay for lunch?"

Chives didn't hesitate turning to walk into the kitchen. Edward looked at me with a timid expression.

"Is he mad you brought me here? Maybe I should leave."

"No way, he doesn't mind." I smiled, pulling him into the kitchen. Chives had already gone to work, taking out ingredients from the pantry to make a mouth-watering lunch. Edward and I sat at the table and waited patiently, talking quietly until Chives set two plates in front of us. On each plate was a steaming salisbury steak and a mound of mashed potatoes covered in gravy. Edward's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Thank you, Chives!" I began to eat as well, finally stopping after most of my plate was empty. Edward looked more than satisfied, and there was gravy trickling down his chin. It bothered me that he had been so hungry, and it made me wonder how often he was allowed to eat.

"T-thank you Alice." Edward got down from the table and wiped his mouth on the edge of his shirt.

"No problem! Do you want to see the house?" It would buy us time, and neither of us wanted to return to the park. Eventually Edward would have to return to his owner, and the thought disturbed me. Edward was the first neko I had spoken with since the mill.

We started walking through the house, and I explained what each room was. When I reached the playroom, Edward's eyes lit up and he ran to the chest of toys. I didn't have the heart to call him back, so I followed him and plopped down beside him on the carpet, taking out some toys to play with.

Before I realized it, hours had passed. The playroom had been turned upside down; toys littered across the floor and nothing had been untouched. Edward and I had spent the entire day laughing and playing, until the sun had gone down and it was getting dark.

"Alice, this has been the best day ever." Edward mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He was getting tired, and so was I. It was obvious that neither of us wanted the day to be over.

"It's almost supper time... you should go home, Edward." I looked at him, and his ears flattened sadly to his head. "I know you don't want to, but you have to." Again, Edward didn't answer. "Your owner is probably worried about you."

"No. My owner would never be worried about me. My owner hates me." Edward stood up and left the room, heading towards the front door. I followed him.

"You can always come back." I offered awkwardly, feeling bad about making him leave. I knew Jasper wouldn't approve of letting another neko stay here.

"Thanks for everything, Alice." We stood at the open front door, looking out into the chilly night. The small neko boy leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back, squeezing him assuringly.

"Bye, Edward." He let go and walked out the door, his tail drooping sadly behind him as he left. I watched him leave until he had disappeared down the driveway. I hadn't noticed that Chives had walked up behind me. When I recognized his presence, I tilted my head back to look up at him.

"Miss Alice," Chives began in a _we need to talk_ tone of voice. "What you did for that boy today was very nice."

I nodded slightly.

"But you must understand that this house is not a safe haven for every neko you may run into." Chives put his hand on my shoulder. "You have a good heart. Be careful that it doesn't get you into trouble."

I slipped away from Chives and made my way up to my bedroom, sinking down onto my bed and pulling my knees up to my chest.

I wasn't a bad person for helping Edward. He was alone and scared, and I remember when I felt like that. All he needed was a friend to get him through those hard times. Maybe I could be that friend.

Minutes later I heard the front door open. That would be Jasper, getting home from his classes. I heard him talking to Chives for a moment and then footsteps coming up the stairs. I jumped off my bed and ran down the hall to the top of the stairs, leaping into Jasper's arms as soon as he landed on the top step. As always, he hugged me close to him and kissed the side of my head.

"Hey, Alice." Jasper carried me to his bedroom and dropped his backpack off one shoulder by the door. "You're sure getting big!" he exclaimed, setting me down on his bed and smiling at me. "Just a few weeks ago, you hardly reached my knees!"

"I'm still growing, too!" I thrust the nearest pillow at him playfully, smacking him in the face with it. Jasper laughed and tossed it back at me.

"It doesn't matter how big you get, you'll always be my little neko." Jasper leaned forward, crouching over me on the bed. My eyes widened as his body got closer to mine in a way that I wasn't used to.

"Jasper, what are you-" The words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

But to my surprise, Jasper had only leaned over me to reach his alarm clock on the end table, setting it for the morning and then standing up again. Based on his facial expression, I was the only one who had thought deviously about the physical contact.

My heartbeat slowed. For a split second, I had thought that my Jasper was going to kiss me. But that was all an image inside my head. Deep down, I knew that Jasper would never love me like another human being.

**Ahh! Another neko at last! Just when you were beginning to think Alice was the only cat-person in this world... I promise you, little Edward is here for a reason, and it is NOT to get with Alice. He plays a minor role in a bigger plot that is soon to come. As for a chapter preview, here you guys go...**

Pacing back and forth in the living room, I was beginning to worry. It was after midnight and Jasper still hadn't returned. The last time he didn't come home on time was when those two crooks broke in and tried to steal every valuable in the house- including myself. It wasn't that I was scared, but I was worried that something really had happened to Jasper this time.

The door opened suddenly and let in a gust of cold air. I nearly leaped out of my fur and ran to the foyer to see what had caused Jasper to return home so late at night. My amber eyes narrowed. There was my Jasper in the doorway, and in one of his arms, hunched over and leaning limply against him, was a pale-faced Maria. The smell of alcohol that now lingered in the foyer was unbearable.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the wait! I've been very busy! (Not that any of you care about my personal life but...) Theatre has really been hogging up all my spare time! Fortunately I have had enough inspiration to write an especially lengthy chapter for you! Review as always! c: Enjoy!**

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"Alice, what are you doing today?" Jasper's voice awoke me. My ears twitched and I raised my head to see him sticking his head in the bedroom. "Oh, did I wake you?"

"I can't remember." I muttered, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. I hadn't remembered falling asleep, but there was an open book on the bed beside me so I figured I had fallen asleep reading it.

"It's a special day." Jasper smiled, walking into my room and sitting down on my bed. I looked at him expectantly.

"Huh?"

"It's my birthday, Alice. I'm officially twenty-one years old."

"Oh!" I clapped my hands together with excitement and threw my arms around his torso in a hug. "Happy birthday, Jasper!" I rubbed my cheek against his affectionately and trailed the tip of my tail across his hand softly. I only wished Chives had told me so I could have gotten him a present in advance.

"We're all going out to lunch to celebrate." he continued. "You, me, and Chives."

"Going out? We're eating lunch outside? Like a picnic?" I pulled away from him and tilted my head. It was still cold outside.

"No," Jasper stifled a laugh. "We're going out to eat at a nice restaurant."

I had never been to a restaurant before.

"What do I wear?" I gasped, getting off the bed and hurrying over to my closet, yanking the doors open and pushing racks of clothes aside. I couldn't believe Jasper was taking me with him to a public place in the first place.

"Something nice, but not too fancy... hmm." Suddenly Jasper was beside me with his head in my closet, and he was searching for something for me to wear as well. "Here, try this." He pulled out a floral dress, something Chives had bought when I outgrew my last favorite dress.

I pulled off my shirt and shimmied out of my pants, standing in my Hello Kitty panties and matching training bra. It felt natural to change in front of Jasper (he had seen me nude many times, after all) but he turned to look the opposite direction, as if he was embarrassed to see his neko in her undergarments.

I tugged on my dress and adjusted it so my tail hung comfortably behind me. It fit me perfectly and after viewing myself in the mirror, I had to say that I looked pretty.

"That's perfect." Jasper smiled. "Let me go change and I'll be ready to go in a few minutes."

Jasper changed into the sort of clothes he wore when he adopted me from the mill. He wore nicely creased slacks and a black blazer over a pale lilac tie and a white dress shirt. I slipped on my jacket and he took my hand and walked me out to the canary yellow Porsche parked in the three-car garage. I had never ridden in the bright yellow car before; only the black BMW that I had rode home in.

Chives was already waiting for us, dressed in his usual attire. He opened the back seat door for me and helped buckle me in, as Jasper got into the passenger seat. Soon after he got into the driver's seat and we were off.

My mouth watered at the thought of whatever delicacies we would be eating for lunch. The scenery we passed was enough to keep my mind occupied, because I didn't often get to leave the area like this. We eventually pulled up in front of a stone-front building with many cars parked in front of it. I got out of the car and stood close to Jasper, watching people walking into the restaurant and lingering outside.

"I'll get our table." Chives announced, leaving us to head towards the entrance. I reached for Jasper's hand, suddenly feeling nervous around so many people.

"Jasper," I whimpered, my eyes darting from side to side. "I don't see any other nekos here."

Jasper tightened his grip on my hand. I could tell he was nervous too, but he kept a very collected demeanor.

"People don't usually bring nekos to restaurants with them."

I knew what that meant. Like the lady at the supermarket, and like the boy who threw a rock at me, it would not be easy to convince anyone that I belonged there.

"You won't let them hurt me, will you?" I asked.

"Of course not."

Chives soon returned and we followed him into the restaurant. I kept my head down and tried to tuck my tail conspicuously between my legs, hoping that I wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

It seemed to be working until we reached our table. The waitress set down two menus and gave me a disapproving look.

"Will your neko be dining with you, sir?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes." Jasper answered cooly, motioning for me to sit in the booth seat by the window. "And for the purpose of your occupation here, you will treat her with the same respect you treat myself."

I was surprised how demanding Jasper could be. My ears flicked slightly, not as desperate to stay flattened to my head anymore. The waitress nodded and set down a third menu in front of me.

"Can I start you out with some drinks?"

The rest of lunch went smoothly. I was never confronted by anyone, but I did catch a few hostile looks from neighboring tables. It was during those moments that I started up a new conversation with Jasper and tried to distract myself. When I could tell someone was staring, I purposely used large words to prove how educated I was.

I ate as much as I could before being unable to place another forkful into my mouth. Jasper and Chives finished as well, and the waitress brought out the check.

Lunch ended as simple as that. There was no further hostility and we all got back into the Porsche to go home. Jasper's phone rang and after glancing at the number he let out a sigh.

"One minute." He left the car to speak on the phone in private. Chives and I sat awkwardly quiet in the vehicle, and I busied myself with watching the people come in and out of the restaurant. Jasper got back into the car and announced, "That was Maria. She wants me to go over there."

I let out the tiniest sigh, looking down at my hands in my lap. I didn't have a present to give Jasper, and I wouldn't get to spend any more time with him either. Chives didn't seem surprised.

"I will drop you off at Miss Maria's immediately." His voice sounded unamused, and he pulled out of the parking lot without another word. I stared at the side of Jasper's head as he focused his attention out the window.

Maria lived on the other side of town. Her house wasn't secluded or as grand as ours. In fact, the only grand thing about it seemed to be her expensive red sports car in the driveway. When we pulled up, Jasper reached back to touch the top of my head affectionately.

"I won't be home late." His eyes were sincere, and I nodded my head. I believed him. He waved to Chives and walked up to the porch, disappearing behind the front door as soon as it opened. My ears went down unhappily.

"Shall we do some shopping, then?" Chives turned around to look at me with a smile. "Since we're all the way out here."

I nodded my head with excitement, nearly forgetting that Jasper had just been pulled into the clutches of the evil witch. I had grown to love shopping, and it wasn't often that I got to go.

We drove to the nearest mall and Chives held the door open as I got out of the car. I didn't feel as subconscious about myself now that I had survived eating at a restaurant. Feeling confident, I walked in front of Chives across the parking lot. I didn't need to hold anyone's hand to cross the street anymore.

Chives and I scavenged each store, picking up anything that I wanted for my room or wished to have in my closet. Money was never an issue, and I felt like the most spoiled neko in the town. I recieved a few glances, and one man accidently stepped on my tail in a busy store, but no one seemed to mind having a neko shopping among them.

In the middle of JC Nickel, something caught my eye. Hanging up on one of the mannequins, complete with a black dress shirt, was a black tie. On the black tie was a repeated pattern of sparkly gold cat faces.

"Chives, look!" I exclaimed, stopping in front of the mannequin and pointing an eager finger up at the tie. Chives stood behind me and chuckled.

"Wouldn't that be a great gift for Major Whitlock?" he asked.

"That's what I was thinking." I smiled. The black tie was the same midnight shade as my hair, and the gold cat faces were the same color as my eyes. I decided that it would be a very fitting present to give to Jasper for his birthday.

We purchased the tie and added the small bag to our bundle of plastic bags from previous stores. I was pleased with myself.

Chives and I returned home. I wasn't expecting Jasper to get home until later, so I hid the bag with his present in the playroom and went upstairs to his room. The blankets were halfway off the bed and clothes littered the room. Without thinking about it, I began to pick up the clothes and toss them down the hamper. When his floor was clear, I made his tall bed and even fluffed his pillows. Straightening up his room would be an extended birthday present to Jasper. Maybe he would be so happy that he would finally love me like he loved Maria.

I quickly ran out of things to do, so I returned to my bedroom to hang up the new clothes I had gotten from the mall and color code them according to the rainbow. When everything was in order, I sat in front of my window and watched the empty driveway, hoping to soon hear an engine.

The sound of the engine didn't come. I waited patiently for two hours until I had to turn the light on in my room because it had gotten dark outside. My ears flattened unhappily and I rested my chin on my arm.

I wanted to wish Jasper another happy birthday, but it seemed like he wouldn't be home before midnight. While pondering if I should abandon my hope and climb in bed, Chives opened my door a bit and looked inside.

"Miss Alice?" His voice snatched up my attention and I quickly turned around.

"You know," I began quietly. "You don't need to call me that. Just Alice is fine." It had begun to bother me that he called on me by a suffix that I didn't deserve, as if I was more important than he was. Nekos aren't meant to be called upon like equals, or anything more than that. I was treated as an equal here, but my inner-animal found it strange whenever he called on me with such respect.

"If that is what you wish." Chives smiled. "May I come in?"

I nodded and we both sat down on my bed.

"I've realized that you have become quite interested in books." The balding man began, looking down at me with his very hazy blue eyes. "You have done an excellent job at learning how to read on your own."

"I like reading." I kicked my feet idly, looking across the room at my bookshelf. "It's like watching a movie, but you can imagine it in your head, and pause it whenever you want."

"Indeed, and perhaps... you would like a bigger selection of books to read?" Chives stared at me with a weird sort of smile, and I tilted my head. He stood again and put his hand out to me. "Allow me."

We walked downstairs. I had almost memorized every room in the house, and there definately wasn't a room that I hadn't seen before. Unsure of where Chives could be leading me, I squeezed his hand tighter.

We walked into one of the multiple spare dens on the first floor. There was a simple desk, a computer, and a tall skinny bookshelf against the wall. There weren't many books on the shelf, so I wondered what Chives could have meant by bringing me here.

Chives let go of my hand and reached out to pick up one of the books. When he did, the entire bookshelf slid slowly across the wall. I watched with amazement as a doorway appeared behind the space the bookshelf once sat.

"Go ahead." Chives urged me. I slowly took a step forward into the doorway. Slowly, one foot in front of another until I was in the middle of an empty space.

The light flickered on and I was surrounded by an unimaginable amount of knowledge. Books lined the walls in shelves that stretched so high above my head that they disappeared from view. There was a tall wooden ladder with wheels on the bottom that I imagined could be moved around the circular room to reach the higher level shelves. Situated around the middle of the room was comfortable looking arm chairs and couches. The only place on the wall that had no books was the small electric fireplace, and a wall clock.

"This den belonged to Major Whitlock's father." Chives entered the room behind me. "It was his personal library. All of the books he collected in his life, and all the books he inherited from his father, and his father before that, they all rest in this library now."

I had never seen so many books in my life. My fingers tingled with excitement. I wanted to snatch up the first book I could reach.

Chives rested his hand on my shoulder. "You're welcome to read as many as you'd like." he told me.

Overwhelming happiness came over me and I turned around to throw my arms around Chives' torso.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I released him quickly and ran to the wall, picking up the first book I saw and bringing it over to the cushioned arm chair in the center of the room.

I remained there in the library for a long time. It was undoubtedly peaceful and quiet, which was the perfect reading environment.

It wasn't until the clock read one in the morning that I finally closed the book and made my way out of the library. It was very dark, and very quiet. I kept the book tucked under my arm and wandered nervously down the hall to the living room.

Pacing back and forth in the living room, I was beginning to worry. It was well after midnight and Jasper still hadn't returned. The last time he didn't come home on time those two crooks broke in and tried to steal every valuable thing in the house- including myself. It wasn't that I was scared, but I was worried that something really had happened to Jasper this time.

The door opened suddenly and let in a gust of cold air. I nearly leapt out of my fur and ran to the front door to see what had caused Jasper to return so late. My amber eyes narrowed. There was my Jasper in the doorway, and in one of his arms, hunched over and leaning limply against him, was a pale-faced Maria. The smell of alcohol that now lingered in the foyer was unbearable.

"Alice, get the door." Jasper pleaded, dragging Maria towards the couch. I ran to close the door, taking a small breath before turning to look at the two of them. Jasper looked exhausted. After lying Maria's nearly unconscious body on the couch, he turned his attention to me.

"She insisted on taking me to a bar for my twenty-first." he muttered unhappily. I could tell he was disappointed and hurt by the highly intoxicated Maria that was now sprawled hastily across the sofa.

The worst part was that I didn't know how to comfort him.

"I took a sip of one drink, and she was already on her third." Jasper continued, brushing a strand of Maria's hair out of her wet mouth. "I couldn't stop her."

I sat on the ground at Jasper's feet and my ears flattened themselves against my head. There was nothing I could say that could make anything better. There was nothing I could do to help him, and that made me feel useless as a neko.

Jasper went into the kitchen to fetch an ice pack to cool Maria down, and I remained on the floor, my eyes fixed on Maria.

"You don't deserve Jasper." I whispered, unsure if she could hear me in her intoxicated state or not. "You don't deserve him because you hurt him again." I hoped that at least now Jasper would see sense in Maria's facade and let her go once and for all. "I could make him happier."

Jasper returned to the living room and placed the ice back on Maria's forehead. He glanced down at me quickly before sitting down next to me beside the couch, covering his face with his hands. I couldn't tell if he was crying or not.

I got closer to Jasper, resting my head against his arm and gently nuzzling against it. My act of comfort made him smile and put his arms around me.

"Thanks, Alice."

We sat there for a while, listening to Maria's incoherent slurring and grunts. Neither of us spoke, but both of us were thankful for each other's company. Finally, I rose to my feet and looked at him.

"She isn't going to be up anytime soon." I told him, rocking on my heels. "You should go to bed."

Jasper sighed with defeat and stood up as well. "You're right." I felt his warm hand on my back guiding me towards the spiral staircase. "You too. It's past your bedtime."

Suddenly I remembered the book that I had dropped in the living room. I hurried back to grab it, holding it tightly against my chest and heading up the stairs again.

"What do you have there?" Jasper asked curiously, waiting for me on the top step. I held out the book in front of him. "Hamlet? Aren't you a little young to be reading..." He trailed off. "I didn't know you could read this level of-"

"I don't." I smiled earnestly. "But I can learn." I tucked the book beneath my arm and headed toward my bedroom, which was in the opposite direction of Jasper's.

"Alice, wait a second." I paused and turned back around to look at him. "Why don't you sleep in my room tonight?"

I wasn't going to ask for his reasoning. I didn't care what his reasoning was. I eagerly followed him to his room, dropping my book on the ground by his door and skipping over to his bed.

"Chives must have picked up my room while I was away." Jasper noted, realizing that none of his clothes remain scattered across the floor and his bed was nicely made.

"No, that was me." I smiled, climbing up onto the neatly made bed. Jasper looked surprised.

"That was thoughtful of you." he smiled, reaching over to ruffle my hair. "Thank you."

"It was part of your birthday- oh!" I suddenly remembered the cat-printed tie hidden in the playroom. "I have a present for you, but it's downstairs..."

"We'll worry about it tomorrow, then." Jasper sat on the bed beside me. "I just want this day to be over with." I couldn't agree with him more. The present could wait, I decided. I wanted to spend the time with him that I could before Maria became an issue again.

I watched him undress and pull on his pajamas, and together we climbed beneath the covers. He flicked off the bedside lamp and the room went dark. My eyes quickly adjusted, and I found myself admiring him from my spot in the bed. He must have felt my gaze on him, because turned onto his side comfortably and looked back at me.

"Your eyes nearly glow in the dark." he whispered. I blinked a few times. I guess they would seem that way to a human with average eyesight. "I hope you never change."

That part surprised me. Jasper didn't want me to change; did that mean that he liked me just the way that I was? Wouldn't he like me more if I was more human, like his intoxicated ex-fiance on the couch? Or did he want to keep me as his neko because thats all he wanted me to be? His neko. His pet.

I closed my eyes and snuggled my body against him. Whether I was a neko or a human, I would always love Jasper.

As Jasper wrapped his arms around me and held me securely against himself, I could only hope that he would always love me too.

No matter what I was.

**There you have it! Maria has finally relapsed (you knew it was coming) and Jasper is finally going to come to his senses! Or is he...? Meanwhile Alice is expanding her knowledge and desperately trying to win Jasper's love. What will happen next? Keep reading Lucky Cat! :3 Nyaa!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Let me tell you that this is a very dramatic, important chapter! A lot happens in here so you gotta pay attention to all the minor details. There are a few sporatic curse words, but I try to hold back on those unless it's really part of the character. I hope you guys enjoy this one! **

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The next morning I awoke before Jasper. His eyes were covered by his messy blonde hair but his lips were parted and he let out a gentle snore with every other inhale. I slipped out of the bed and left the room without a sound.

I was curious to see if Maria was still unconscious on the couch. Sunlight beamed through the windows and lit the entire house with warmth, although I noticed that outside, a thin layer of snow had covered the lawn. I shuffled into the living room, peeking out from behind the side of the couch.

Maria was sitting upright staring at the blank television screen. At first I thought she was asleep sitting up, but then she parted her cherry red lips and said, "Get away from me."

I crossed my arms and straightened up. The tip of my tail flicked irritably from side to side.

"You're not so pleasant yourself." I snapped. I turned my back on her and headed towards the kitchen.

"I have a fucking hangover." I heard Maria's lumbering footsteps stumble onto the tile floor behind me. Her bare feet stuck to the ground with small smacking noises.

I got into the fridge and grabbed an apple for breakfast.

Maria began rubbing her temples and making small noises of discomfort. It amused me, so I stood there and watched her as I bit into my apple.

"Is something funny?" Maria's eyes were like daggers into mine. I laughed softly and shook my head.

"No, nothing at all." I grinned at her, making sure to show my sharp canine teeth. Maria snorted.

"Jasper thinks you're so great... you're nothing but a little brat." Her insult hardly affected me.

"Well, Jasper won't like you any more because you got drunk again." I retorted, feeling the fur on my tail prickle. "You're nothing but a liar."

We glared at each other for a long moment. Maria was the next to speak.

"I know what you're trying to do. You're hoping that Jasper will get rid of me so you can have him all to yourself." That wasn't a lie. "Well I have news for you, cat." Maria leaned down so her breath, warm and reaking of alcohol, was hot on my face. "I had Jasper in my hands before you were even born."

"That doesn't mean anything," I argued, "when you're a liar."

Suddenly my apple was rolling across the floor, and my feet were dangling a foot above the ground. Maria had her shaking skinny fist knotted in the front of my shirt, suspending me in the air.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I screeched, praying that Jasper would hear me from upstairs.

Still holding my shirt, Maria moved so my back was pushed up against the wall. She raised her other hand high behind her head, preparing to hit me across the face.

"If you lay one finger on that child, you're going to wish you had never been born."

Chives was standing behind Maria, a look of serious anger on his face. Slowly, Maria set me down on my feet. My heart was pounding out of my chest.

"May I guide you to the door?" Chives had a dark smile.

"I'll find my own way." Maria whipped around and returned to the living room. After a moment of listening to her rustle with her jacket, the door slammed shut. I looked up to Chives.

"Thank you." My voice trembled slightly.

"What's going on?" Jasper stepped into the kitchen looking mildly startled. I rushed to his side and held onto his waist, embarrassed to appear so upset but desperate to be comforted. "Alice, what's wrong?"

What _was _wrong? What had triggered such an emotional pain in my chest? Why did I suddenly feel as if I had a vast empty vaccum as a stomach?

"Chives? What's wrong with her?" Jasper's voice sounded more desperate than before. I was vaguely aware of being lifted into his arms. "Alice?"

"She appears to be in shock." Chives noted. His voice was closer now.

"What the hell happened?" Jasper demanded, carrying me into the living room. "Alice, shh, it's okay. You don't need to cry." His words were comforting, but distant.

I hadn't even been aware of the tears streaming down my cheeks. I thrust my face into the crook of his neck, and his grip tightened on me. There was a ear-piercing wailing noise that hurt to listen to.

I realized it was my own screaming.

The way Maria threatened me had reminded me of the excruciating days at the neko mill. As soon as she raised her hand to hit me, I remembered the uncountable amount of times that the bad men had hurt me. I remembered every crack of my bones. I remembered every stinging cheek and every black eye. I remembered the way they would throw me down and kick me around because I was a neko and they were not.

I remembered the bad man who touched me in places I never wanted to be touched.

In a blur of disturbing flashbacks, I almost forgot where I was. I felt fear with every bone in my body, and with every drop of blood in my veins.

She had unknowingly caused me more pain than she had intended.

"Christ!" Jasper gasped. "Is she having a fit?!"

"Set her down," Chives advised. "She'll be okay."

"Alice, look at me." Jasper cupped my face in his hands, turning my head to look at him. We were on the couch in the living room now. There was concern in his voice that I had never heard before. "What happened?"

I stared at him, unable to speak. My lips trembled and my body felt weak. Finally, I dropped my gaze to my wobbly knees.

"Don't let them hurt me again." I whispered.

Jasper was silent.

The entire room was silent.

I think Jasper was holding his breath. Or maybe he stopped breathing completely.

Then, after what seemed like forever, he placed his hand on the back of my head and gently guided my face to his shoulder. He let me cry for a long time, until the sleeve of his shirt was wet with tears. I felt his soft hands stroking my hair.

By the time I had calmed down, I was exhausted. My body was very limp in Jasper's arms, and he must have thought I was sleeping because he began talking to Chives in a very hushed tone.

"Was it Maria?" he asked.

"She nearly hit her." Chives answered.

"I guess it must have triggered memories or something... or nightmares. She left, right? Maria?"

"Yes. I sent her away."

"I've never seen her like this before... should we take her to the hospital?"

"Common hospitals won't treat nekos, Major. Perhaps the best thing to do is to allow her to rest and comfort her to the best of your ability."

Jasper was quiet after that. I let him shift my weight so that he could pick me up and carry me upstairs. Instead of going to my room, he took me to his and laid me down on the bed.

"Alice." My eyes flickered open; they felt heavy and swollen from crying. "What do you want to do today? Anything you want. Anything at all."

I blinked a few times. There was nothing I wanted more than to lie in bed with him for the rest of the day, hugging him and breathing in his sweet, comforting scent. I wanted to wash away every reminder of my past that Maria had brought up.

"Maybe we could read a story together." I said in the tinest of voices. I brought my knees up to my chin. "I like reading... I'm getting better sounding out the words. Big words, like rapacious and idiosyncracy."

Jasper's smile was genuine.

"You're becoming quite the reader." he said.

"I want to be smart." I answered. "I don't want to be dumb and helpless. One day, I'm going to make a difference."

"You already made a difference." Jasper leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "Do you want to go get a book?"

I nodded, getting down from the bed and heading to my room. Although there was a huge unexplored library downstairs, I had the perfect book in mind to read together with Jasper, and it was sitting on my bookshelf.

When I returned, Jasper was waiting patiently on the bed.

"That was fast, what did you grab?" He asked. In response, I set the book down in his hands. He let out a laugh. "Haven't you read this one?"

I had, but I shook my head because I wanted to read this novel with him, page by page, word by word.

"Alright, get comfortable." Jasper made a place for me on the bed and I sprawled out on my stomach. He cleared his throat and announced with a smile, _"Alice in Wonderland."_

_..._

I awoke to a very light tapping noise. It was almost so quiet that my sensitive animal ears didn't pick up the sound, so I know Jasper wouldn't wake up. We were lying together on the bed, after spending nearly all day reading together. The book of which I was named after laid abandoned on the endtable. We had finished it.

I heard the tapping noise again and flicked my ear. It was definitely coming from the door downstairs. It was so distant and soft that I doubted Chives would hear it either. Wondering what the noise could be, I snuck out of the bedroom and down the stairs. After taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

"Edward!" I hissed through my teeth.

The boy looked twice as worse as the last time I had seen him. His hair was matted down on the side of his head and stained dark red. I could smell the rusty blood before I could see it. Edward looked like he was about to fall down at any moment, so I quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

"What happened?" I gasped. Edward didn't answer. He just sat down on the hard wood floor.

"I d-didn't know where to go." he murmured. "Alice is only friend... I didn't know..."

I left Edward where he was in the foyer and ran back upstairs to Jasper's room. He was already beginning to sit up, like he had heard me coming up the stairs.

"Jasper, Jasper!" I ran to the bedside and grabbed his hand. "Come quick! My friend is hurt real bad!"

Confused, Jasper followed me blindly down the dark stairs. When he spotted Edward's shadow by the door, he flicked on the light and inhaled deeply.

"Oh, my..."

"Help him!" I cried. "He's hurt, help him!"

"Okay!" Jasper shushed me, leaning down beside the smaller neko. "What's your name, kid?"

"Edward..."

"You're going to be alright, Edward." Jasper picked him up and carried him into the bathroom on the first floor. I followed right on his heels, anxious to see what would become of my friend. The wound on his head looked serious enough to kill him.

I had seen nekos die before, but I never wanted to see my new friend die.

"Do you remember what happened?" Jasper asked gently, setting him in the bath tub and grabbing a box of first-aid from under the sink. I set my hands on the edge of the tub, frowning sadly at his pitiful state.

"Owner..." Edward breathed. "Alice is only friend... I didn't know where to go..."

"Your owner did this to you?" Jasper looked incredulous. I knew it would be hard for him to understand like we did. "What did she hit you with?"

Edward stuttered over a few syllables. "B-b-bat." I winced. "Alice is only friend... I didn't know..." Jasper pulled out the same liquid he used on my head when that burgler threw me into a wall. It would sting him for a moment, but then feel cool and nice. I watched Edward's eyes get heavy as Jasper held a towel to his head.

"Alice, why don't you get Edward something to drink?" Jasper suggested. I didn't want to leave, but then he added, "He's lost a lot of blood and he's dehydrated."

I knew what that word meant because I had read a book about it. Knowing I could be helping somehow, I hurried to the kitchen and got my favorite jug of fruit punch out. It was large and heavy, so I set it down on the floor quickly with a loud thump.

"May I be of assistance?" Chives was behind me again, smiling warmly at me. I gave him a thankful purr and he picked up the jug, pouring some into a sippee cup and handing it to me. He followed me back to the bathroom.

"Here, Edward. Drink this. You're dehydrated." I said, leaning over the tub to hold it out to him.

Edward had fallen limp against the inside of the tub. His golden eyes were closed.

His chest was no longer struggling for breath.

He was dead.

"You knew!" I shrieked, turning around to face Jasper. "You knew he wasn't gonna make it!"

"Alice..." he breathed, extending his hand out to me. I shoved it away furiously.

"No! You made me leave because you didn't want me to see it!"

"Alice, listen to me-"

"I didn't even get to say goodbye!" I continued. "He was my friend and I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

I dropped the sippee cup on the floor and began to sob.

**Well, there it is. A bit of poor Alice's past is revealed, a friend is lost, and Maria is still out there. I apologize for any tears I may have caused you to shed. Review! It feeds my inspiration to write. Stay tuned for what happens next in the next installation of Lucky Cat. :3 Nyaa.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it took so long to update, guys! I haven't had much time to really sit down and plot things out. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! You're all my inspiration to keep writing! Enjoy this next chapter of Lucky Cat!**

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It took days to get over Edward's death. I refused to talk to Jasper, even after he apologized. Deep down, I knew that he was only trying to do the right thing and protect me. But there was a bigger part of me that hated him for tricking me into leaving the room when my friend was taking his final breaths.

I spent the next week going back and forth between my bedroom and the hidden library without saying much. I tried to distract myself by reading but I was still mourning over the loss of such a sweet neko.

Chives helped me bury him. The hardest part was changing his clothes. I saw on TV once that when someone died, you were supposed to dress them up before you buried them. So I asked Chives to buy a children's suit. When we took his clothes off, we saw cuts and bruises all over him. It was hard not to cry, but I had to be brave because Edward was younger and he wouldn't have wanted me to cry. When his cold body was dressed in a black tuxedo, with a bright red bowtie, we set him in a box and buried him in the woods behind our house.

I picked the prettiest flowers I could find and put them on his grave. They were bright yellow.

"You know what's sad?" I said to the carved rock that marked Edward's grave. "I didn't even know you that well. I just met you one day, and then you were my friend. I wish I had known you better." The wind ruffled the fur on my ears and shifted my short hair. "I wish I had gotten to tell you that you were the nicest neko I'd ever met."

There was one thing that bothered me even more than the death of Edward. The fact that his owner had beaten him to death.

"Alice," Jasper's kind voice called from the back porch. "It's time to come inside, you're going to catch a cold."

I rested my hand on the rock I had been speaking to. In messy Sharpie handwriting it said:

_Edward_

_A very nice neko_

_May you have lots of fun in Heaven_

"Alice." Jasper called again. I stood up and shuffled sadly back to the house, passing him without a word. "How long are you going to stay mad at me?" Jasper asked, closing the door. I sighed and sat down on the floor.

"Do you think his owner knows that he's dead?" I stared up at Jasper, who looked puzzled.

"If they inflicted so much damage to him, they would have to know. The sad truth is, they probably don't care." He answered softly. I looked down at the floor.

"I'm not mad at you Jasper." I mumbled after a moment. "I'm just really sad. He didn't deserve that, not one bit."

"Of course he didn't." Jasper crouched down in front of me. "Sometimes things happen that we wish we could change, but we just can't." he told me. "Sometimes it hurts a lot."

I got the feeling that Jasper was thinking about something in particular. I know he lost his parents when he was little, and maybe he was remembering them, wishing he could change their fate too.

Jasper helped me to my feet and hugged me. "You're cold." he pointed out. "I was going to go take a hot bath myself... do you want to join me?" Immediately, I felt all the heat in my body rushing to my cheeks.

Jasper was asking me to take a bath with him.

He had seen me naked before, and I had peeked at him undressing, but we had never taken a bath before.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that it would make you uncomfortable." He continued, scratching the back of his head.

"No! I want to take a bath with you." The words rolled out of my mouth before I could think about them. Of course he only thought of me as his neko, and bathing together would be like dropping a cat in the tub with him.

But for me, Jasper was my human. He was my owner, my savior, and my best friend. He was a handsome man with an undoubtedly nice body and I was nervous that I would somehow embarrass myself in front of him.

I followed Jasper to the upstairs bathroom that was connected to his room. He began to run water in the tub and asked me to get clean towels from the closet. When I returned, Jasper was already sliding his shirt off over his head. I tried not to look.

"What kind of bubbles do you want?" I asked him, looking at the large variety of bubble bath solutions under the sink.

"You pick." Jasper answered. I could hear him shuffling with his belt buckle, so I took extra long deciding which bottle to use. After finally deciding on pear-scented bubble bath, I closed the cabinet and prepared myself, turning around.

Jasper was beautiful. His body was perfect. Every line, every indent, and every hair on him could have been related to a god. I couldn't help but to stare at him, especially the part of him that I had never seen.

"The bubble bath, Alice?" Jasper held his hand out expectantly and I felt myself turning red in the face again. I quickly handed the bottle to him and looked away.

When the tub was nearly overflowing with suds, Jasper sunk into the steamy water with a long, exaggerated sigh of comfort. I stood there for a moment longer, rocking side to side nervously.

"Come on in, the water is great." Jasper hummed, sinking further down into the water and resting his head on the edge of the tub.

"Don't look." I said anxiously, grabbing the hem of my shirt. Usually I didn't mind changing in front of him, but this was different. Jasper closed his eyes in response, and I pulled my shirt off over my head.

When all of my clothes were lying next to his on the floor, I walked to the edge of the tub and reached one leg over, touching the surface of the water with my toes. It was very warm, without being too hot. Leg by leg, I climbed into the tub and sunk down into the bubbles with Jasper.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me.

"See? Not so bad, right?" He reached out his hand and petted the top of my head. I let myself relax. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, I decided. If Jasper wasn't affected by the close proximity of our nude bodies, than neither was I.

I resisted the urge to splash in the bubbles like I used to. Instead, I leaned my head back against the rim of the tub opposite of Jasper. We sat in silence, letting the water sooth us. It seemed like hours had passed before Jasper was climbing out of the water, which was now lukewarm.

He passed me a towel and I climbed out as well, standing naked on the rug and patting myself dry. My tail twitched nervously behind me, but I forced myself to remain calm. There was nothing weird about Jasper bathing with me.

Jasper was in his clothes by the time I finished drying off. I tugged on my underwear and was in the midst of clamping my bra when Jasper said,

"You're beautiful, Alice."

My breath was caught in my throat and I turned around to look at him, fur prickling with excitement. Jasper called me beautiful. My Jasper said that I was beautiful. I had never been called beautiful before. All frustration and anger that I had felt at him over Edward's death was washed away with those three simple words.

"You're a beautiful girl, and a beautiful species." he continued, drawing closer to me and touching my damp hair. "I don't understand how anyone could hurt such innocent creatures."

The light touch was gone, and Jasper was leaving the bathroom. I fumbled to put my clothes on, unsure of what had sparked such affections in Jasper. Maybe he was trying to distract me from Edward. Maybe he was just being sweet.

I got dressed rather quickly, desperate to hide my body from his eyes. All of the embarrassment I felt before came crawling back.

There was a light knock on the door and Chives' voice called out from behind it.

"Major Whitlock, Maria has dropped in for an unexpected visit." he said. "She's waiting downstairs."

I let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the tub. I knew Jasper would make up with her and they would go back to being as close as two people could be. It was obvious that I would never have Jasper to myself.

I followed Jasper out of the bathroom, and my curiosity told me to walk with him downstairs to see what Maria had to say. They hadn't really spoken since she had nearly hit me in the kitchen, but I knew the desirable distance between them wouldn't last forever.

Maria was sitting on the couch in the living room. From the overwhelming smell of cheap perfume and the amount of makeup on her face, she was trying especially hard to impress Jasper.

"Jazzy!" She stood up and met Jasper in the foyer, hugging him and pressing her mouth against the side of his face.

I leaned against the railing, waiting for them to separate. Maria had her fingers in his shirt in a grasp that was unlikely to loosen. To my enjoyment, Jasper looked unamused.

"I told you that I didn't want to see you right now." he said, pulling out of her grip. I looked down at my feet, feeling smug. He didn't want to see Maria because she had threatened me, and that meant that I was more important to Jasper than their relationship.

"Are you still mad? Baby, you know stress isn't good for you." Maria's snakelike fingers stroked his cheek, but he brushed her hand away.

"Maria." Jasper said in a warning voice.

"Okay, okay." The tall woman rolled her eyes. "That isn't why I came here, anyway. My neko is missing, I was wondering if you or your vermin had seen him." Her eyes flickered to me, and I glared right back at her.

"No, I haven't." Jasper sighed, attempting to nudge her towards the door. "You shouldn't be here right now, it isn't good for Alice."

"Oh, is that all you care for now? Your _cat_? It's an animal, Jasper, not a person. If it was my cat between our relationship, I would throw mine out in a heartbeat."

"That's what makes you a bitch." I piped in from my place on the bottom step. I think Jasper's head whipped around faster than Maria's did.

"Alice!" Jasper scolded. "We don't use that language in this house!"

For some reason, I couldn't have cared less. Maria was what she was.

"It's true!" I hissed. "You know it is! No wonder your neko ran away!"

"That brat thought he could hide from me before." Maria muttered. "You know where he was the last time? The damn park. Completely predictable, that's where I found him in the first place. Although I gotta say, it was better than paying thirty grand."

Slowly, I felt something snap inside of me. A sudden realization crept down my spine.

The next thing I knew, I had jumped onto Maria and threw her backwards onto the ground. My claws began to rip and tear at her clothing, and then at her skin. I was mildly aware of Jasper's desperate attempts to call me back, but I was too focused on my prey.

"_You_ killed Edward!" I shrieked. "You were his owner and you hurt him! You beat him to death! You monster!"

Beyond Maria's shrill screams, I couldn't hear anything except my own heartbeat.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump thump thump. Thumpthumpthumpthump.

"Alice! Enough!"

I kept on digging at her skin until Jasper grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me off of her. I stumbled slightly and caught myself on the arm of the couch. When I regained my balance, I realized my hands were wet and sticky.

I glanced over at Maria, who was laying sprawled across the living room floor.

Her chest was sliced open as if she had been fighting a cheese grater. The damage looked unrepairable.

"Alice..." Jasper breathed. "What have you done?"

**Wow! Wasn't that an exciting chapter! No, Maria is NOT dead. She's just scratched open- but Alice had the right, didn't she? Well, I think she did. That's why I made it that way. No doubt Alice is a tough cookie, but can she learn to control herself? And how will Jasper react to all of this? Find out next time in Lucky Cat! 3 :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**This is a short one, guys! It is also a heart-tugger. A big thank you to everyone who enjoys and reviews Lucky Cat so much! Where would I be without you guys?**

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Jasper ended up taking Maria to the Emergency Room after she had fallen unconscious shortly after the attack. He told me very sternly to stay home with Chives. There was a displeasing tone to his voice that almost made me feel guilty for hurting Maria.

Almost.

Once the car left the driveway I sat on the floor in the foyer. I knew that I had done something wrong, but it was conflicting to feel ashamed for it. Nekos, as a rule, were never supposed to attack a human being. It was considered hostile and "undomesticated". But Maria deserved every scratch that she got, and I was set on that.

"Perhaps a little chit-chat?" Chives' calming voice sounded behind me. I looked up at him with a frown, although he was the only one I knew that could never be mad at me. Jasper, however, looked very unhappy with me before he left.

"She deserved it, didn't she?" I asked him, standing up again and following Chives to the bathroom. "She was Edward's owner, and she beat him to death."

"If you do excuse me saying so," Chives began, "Maria has been considerably harsh to you ever since you threatened her relationship." He began running water in the tub. "She doesn't like you, and you aren't fond of her. There are a lot of hard feelings there- but did she ever confess that your friend was her neko?"

"Chives!" I hissed, wheeling around to look at him. "Of course she was his owner! She said he had gone missing, and she found him at the park! That's where I found Edward before!" My mouth felt like it was running a mile a minute. "You don't think she was innocent, do you?"

"Of course not." Chives took my hands and stuck them under the warm water pouring into the tub. He began to rub them gently, washing away the blood and letting it rinse away. "I trust Maria no more than you do. But Major Whitlock won't be pleased with your behavior."

"I know." My ears flattened against my head and I watched the red water spiral down the drain until my hands were clean again.

"We'll worry about that later." Chives finished, handing me a towel to dry my hands. "For now, why don't you help me prepare dinner?"

I did as Chives asked and followed him to the kitchen. Cooking dinner was a mindless task: peeling potatoes and chopping carrots. But when everything was boiling in a pot, I left Chives to go sit patiently by the front door. I wasn't a child anymore, but waiting by the door for Jasper to return just seemed like an instinctive thing to do.

I didn't have to wait long. I watched the canary yellow Porsche glide up the driveway and disappear into the three-car garage. Moments later, Jasper walked in the front door. Almost immediately he began to scold:

"How could you be so reckless? Do you know the trouble that you've just caused? Maria's hospital bill is going to be a fortune and you know that she's going to expect me to pay for it." Jasper sounded like he had rehearsed this speech in his head previously. "Do you know what happens to nekos when they attack other people, Alice? They get taken to an extremely one-sided court hearing and then they get confinscated! Forever!"

He was yelling now, and Chives had appeared through the kitchen doorway. I stared up at Jasper with tears in my eyes. He had gotten mad at me before, but he had never yelled at me like this.

"I thought you were smarter than this, damn it! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Jasper demanded. If my ears had flattened any further, they would have disappeared completely.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered.

"You _will _be sorry when you're being shoved in a box and taken away! You'll sure as hell be sorry when they take you back to that mill!" With that, Jasper slammed his fist into the wall. The plaster cracked, and when he pulled his hand back, there was a fist-sized crater in the wall.

I stood there trembling for a moment.

"Go to your room."

"Jasper-" I began, desperate to sincerely apologize.

"Do as I say!" He snapped, shooting his index finger towards the spiral staircase.

His anger had frightened me so much that I turned around and ran as fast as I could up the stairs, stumbling and nearly falling on every few steps. When I reached the safety of my bedroom, I closed the door and took a few steps back, staring at it. There had never been a lock installed on my door, but I was afraid that Jasper might come in to yell at me more.

I ran to the side of my dresser and began to push it with all my strength. Slowly, with short breaks to catch my breath, I positioned it in front of my door to block the entrance. Even if someone tried to push the door open, they wouldn't be able to.

I felt safe and isolated, a feeling that I never particularly had to feel before at this house. I had never felt frightened by Jasper before, especially not frightened enough to move furniture in front of my door. Was I afraid that Jasper was going to hit me, like Maria had tried to do? Or kick me, like the bad men at the mill?

The mill.

The bad men.

Jasper told me that I could be taken away from him because I attacked a human. I could be shoved in a box and taken back there, just like in my nightmare.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was pulling a backpack of toys out of underneath my bed and dumping it out on the floor. Fake foods and Barbie dresses scattered the floor, and I began yanking open drawers, stuffing clothes into the bag. While I was at it, I tugged on jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and a dark hoodie. I managed to fit my stuffed cat into the bag before zipping it up and throwing it over my shoulders.

The only exit from my room now was the window, which I knew overlooked some shrubs against the back of the house. I opened the window and peered down.

The fall looked higher than I imagined, and I had always been afraid of heights, but I climbed up on the window sill and hung my legs off the edge anyway.

I knew cats always landed on their feet, so how different could it be for me?

For a moment I glanced back into my dark bedroom. If I left now, I probably wouldn't see that room again. I wouldn't see Jasper, or Chives, or the magnificient library downstairs. I would be on my own. A stray. A neko without a purpose.

After I jumped, I would land safely in the shrubs and start running for the woods behind the house. I would give a quick goodbye to Edward, who wouldn't be able to say goodbye in return. I would run as fast as I could for as long as I could until I knew I was far enough away that Jasper wouldn't be able to find me. At least not in one night. Then I would settle down somewhere safe, close my eyes, and wait until morning to move on. Maybe I would even hop on the back of a train.

Why did I need to escape from Jasper so badly? It wasn't Jasper I was truly afraid of. I told myself that I would never return to that cursed place again, where nekos are tortured and neglected. I had attacked Maria, and because of that, I needed to run away. I couldn't appear in court because I already knew what the verdict would be. So did Jasper, and that's why he was so mad. The only answer was to run away; to leave this place and never come back. As much as I hated it, I knew I was right.

So I shut my eyes and jumped.

**Ahhhh! Alice! Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? How are you going to survive? The next chapter will be a real treat for you guys... a little bit in Jasper's POV! Thank you everyone! Let me know what your thoughts are! :D Big kitty hugs to all of you!**


	13. Chapter 13

**As promised, here's a little insight to what Jasper is thinking throughout all of this! Thank you all for keeping up with me and keeping me interested in writing! R&R, lovelies! **

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JPOV

I wasn't mad at Alice.

In fact, I felt darker than the devil himself as I stood there yelling at her in the foyer, watching her eyes cloud over with tears. I was a bad person for raising my voice at her when she already knew she had done something wrong. Alice wasn't the kind of person that you had to discipline in order for her to learn a lesson. She knew everything that she was doing, and quickly learned if what she did was acceptable or not.

I didn't send her upstairs because I was mad at her. I sent her upstairs because I didn't want to take out any more of my anger on her. Raising my voice had scared her, and I hated that. I should have been more considerate of her feelings and how she grew up in the mill, being verbally and physically abused by the handlers. Mentioning the mill was probably the worst thing that I could have brought up to her, but I had to get the point across that she had made a big mistake. If Maria cared enough, she could swipe Alice into court and have her taken away.

After Alice scurried upstairs, Chives left the room without a word, ubdoubtedly upset with how I had treated her. I couldn't blame him. I sunk down onto the couch and leaned my head back, letting out a long groan of exhaustion. It didn't take long for the guilty thoughts to come rushing back.

When Alice first arrived, she could hardly move. Her tiny little legs were wobbly and useless, and the first time I set her down she collapsed onto the carpet as if she had never used her legs before. I was so horrified by her condition that I was afraid that she wasn't going to make it through the night.

After removing her filthy clothes, I realized exactly how much abuse she had gone through. Part of me wanted to go straight back to the mill and blow off the hands of every one of the men that had ever touched her. Her body was designed with different shades of bruises they had left on her. I could imagine her pitiful mews and whimpers as they kicked her and knocked her into things. I knew Alice wasn't the only neko that had been treated that way, but she was just a little girl and she had already seen more violence than good in the world. I was almost afraid to touch her fragile body as I set her down in the bathtub to be cleaned up.

Within the first bumpy week, the change in Alice was phenominal. She had grown from being nervous into a surprisingly confident individual. She was curious as a kitten and constantly getting into mischief, but I liked that about her. Coming home from school was a relief because I knew I would be able to spend time with Alice and every moment I spent with her strengthened our friendship.

The night I returned from college to find two intruders in my kitchen, harassing and threatening to kidnap my Alice, I lost all self-control and grabbed the handgun I kept concealed in the shoe closet. I would have shot them both in the head if I hadn't been afraid of the trauma it might have left Alice with. Instead I shot the one closest to her in the chest and let them run off with a warning. That night, as I was dabbing Alice's head with hydrogen peroxide, I felt an immense amount of guilt for leaving her home alone so long. Alice was forgiving as always, but I promised her that I would never leave her home alone, without myself or Chives there, again.

When Maria entered the picture I was blinded by a forgotten affection. The last time I had seen her she had been an alcoholic wreck. But seeing her in the doorway with curled hair and red lips, I knew she had gotten better. I ended up sleeping with Maria instead of Alice, although Maria and I shared each other unlike Alice and I ever did.

After that, things happened rather quickly. Before I knew it I was seeing Maria every day, and spending less and less time with Alice. Chives warned me about neglecting her, but I brushed his words off. I regret that.

Alice's height shot up and I was no longer able to scoop her up with one arm. I expected it to happen, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. She also gained an unusual interest in reading and writing, skills that no normal neko were taught.

I was proud of her.

One afternoon I came home to find Chives and Alice in the midst of transforming one of the spare rooms into a bedroom for Alice. I was shocked that Alice wanted to move out of my room. Independence was something I hadn't expected from Alice, who usually followed me around the house mindlessly. I wasn't ready to give up her company at night, but I suppose she was. I tossed and turned all night.

For my twenty-first birthday, Maria insisted on taking me out to a bar. As much as I refused, she had her way and we went out for a drink, since I was legal now. The inevitable happened and Maria ended up drinking much more than she could handle. I drove her back to the house and realized that everything Chives had been telling me was true. Maria wasn't through being an alcoholic. She had betrayed my trust and in her drunken stupor, had happened to mention how much she hated Alice. I was so disappointed that I went up to bed, taking Alice with me.

That morning I awoke to the sound of yelling downstairs. I could only imagine who could be doing the yelling. By the time I had come downstairs I found tiny Alice cowering against the wall with tears running down her face. Chives had told me that Maria had threatened to hit her, and now she was in some sort of a post-traumatic stress attack. I tried to calm her down as much as I could, but she cried for hours.

That was when I realized that I could no longer see Maria.

Not only had she admitted that she wanted me to get rid of Alice, but she had nearly physically hurt her. I wasn't going to sacrifice Alice for an alcoholic. Maria had broken the last straw, and I felt nothing left for her.

When Edward died, Alice wouldn't speak to me for days. I didn't want her to see her friend die, and it was my duty as her guardian to protect her from that violence. She was furious, but just this morning she had come around. I offered to share a bath with her, and that seemed to cheer her up.

Alice was much more human to me than she was as a cat. I hardly noticed her ears or her tail anymore, and her topaz-colored eyes were mezmorizing to me. As I sat in the bathtub and watched her undress, I realized just how beautiful she was.

She was still tiny and pixie-like, but she no longer had the body of a child. Her chest was filling out, and there was a small patch of hair between her legs. As persistant as she was about concealing her body, I caught a few glimpses of her and found myself smiling. My Alice was growing up.

I thought things would be alright after that.

Until Maria showed up, bringing in unnecessary drama and complaining about her missing neko.

She had never mentioned having a neko, and of all the times I had visited her home I had never once seen one.

Alice caught on to whatever hints Maria had been dropping and before I knew it, my sweet innocent Alice had her claws out, scratching Maria to pieces. I had to yank her off to make her stop, and there was a red mess all over her tiny hands. I was more shocked than anything.

I left Alice with Chives and took Maria to the emergency room. She fell unconscious, so it was a quiet ride. When I came home, I had so much to say that I had let it all out on Alice.

And that was where I was now.

Glancing at the clock, I realized an hour had passed. I forced myself up off the couch and made my way towards the spiral staircase, determined now to apologize to Alice and make it up to her somehow. I knew she hadn't meant to cause so much damage. She was probably crying beneath her bed or crouched in her closet.

I stopped at her bedroom door and knocked. Once. Twice. Three times. There was no answer.

"Alice?" I called. "Can I come in?"

I waited for some sort of response, but didn't recieve one. After a minute I turned the doorknob and tried to open the door. It parted a crack but thumped into something hard and wouldn't budge.

"Alice," I repeated, pushing at it again. "Open the door please, I want to talk to you."

The door wasn't going to budge, and Alice wouldn't answer. Worry began to creep up inside me and I started pounding on the door.

"Alice! Answer me! You open this door right now!"

The door didn't open. I ran down the hallway to the bathroom and got under the sink to grab a tool kit. A hammer. A screw driver. Moments later, the door fell off its hinges and I shoved it out of the way.

Alice's dresser was blocking the door. How someone so small could move furniture of that size was beyond me, but there was no sight of Alice in the room. My eyes landed on the window, which was pushed open as far as it could go. The baby pink curtains shifted gently in the breeze. I stood as still as a statue behind the dresser that blocked the doorway.

My Alice was gone.

Behind me, Chives rested his hand on my shoulder.

"We'll find her." he told me. I could feel my entire body shaking, and guilt flooded over me.

"She left because of me." I whispered. "She ran away because I yelled at her. It's my fault."

I pulled away from Chives and ran down the stairs, yanking on my jacket and throwing the front door open.

"Major Whitlock, she could be anywhere by now." Chives' calm yet concerned voice said from the top of the staircase.

"I don't care! I'm going to find her!" I shouted, disappearing out the door and into the cold air.

I was going to find her, no matter how long it took.

I had to.

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**Jasper is determined to find his little neko! And where has Alice disappeared to? I'll give you guys a little preview to give you an idea...**

"How do you know?" I asked her, my ears flattening to my head.

"I learned from the best." The blonde girl stepped a little closer, and I realized on feature of her that I hadn't noticed before. On top of her head were two furry ears.

She was a neko.

"What's your name?" she asked me, tilting her head to one side.

"Alice, I breathed, walking up in front of her.

"I'm Rosalie." the blonde told me. "It's a pleasure to meet you."


	14. Chapter 14

**A big thank you to every single one of you who have reviewed! Here is the next installation of Lucky Cat! We're switching back to Alice's point of view for a little bit of adventure! A big shout out to my good friend Mary Tew for helping me out when I had some writer's block! Rate and review for a kitten-shaped cookie c:**

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APOV

It had been one day and two nights since I ran away. Things had gone according to my plan: I ran for hours until I ended up on the other side of town. It had been late in the night so I made my bed under the shelter of a willow tree and tucked in my tail for bed.

Curiosity haunted me until sunrise. Who had been the one to try and force open my bedroom door? Had it been a concerned Chives, or an apologetic Jasper? Was Jasper upset? Was he searching for me? Did he even care?

The next day I tried my luck at finding somewhere to stay. I wandered every alley searching for any vacant or abandoned houses but I had no luck. There was no place for a stray neko like me to fit in, especially on this side of town.

Unlike the area where the Whitlock estate was, all the houses here were small and broken down. The streets were lined with totalled cars and garbage. Repulsive men stood on the street corners smoking cigars and talking to themselves. It wasn't the type of place anyone would want to live in, but it was my best chance of staying low for a while.

The next night was even colder than the last. Instead of backtracking to the willow tree, I fell asleep propped up against the brick wall of a dark alley. I slept better there than I did the first night, but my stomach continued to wake me with its growling. I hadn't thought to pack any food, and the thought of digging in garbage made me sick.

However, by morning I decided that I would rather go dumpster-diving than starve. I poked my head into an alleyway and made sure that I was its only occupant. The last thing I wanted was to get in a fight with some sort of vicious wild animal.

I leaned over the edge of a garbage dumpster and began sifting through bags in hope of something edible. The smell was awful, but the thought of filling my stomach was stronger.

"What in the world are you doing?" A voice behind me startled me and brought me out of my instinctive mindset. I slid down and landed on the ground in front of the dumpster, turning around to face the one who had spoken.

She was taller than I was, blonde, and beautiful. There wasn't one flaw on her face. I thought I recognized her from one of the beauty magazines underneath the coffee table.

"Well?" The blonde demanded again, looking almost horrified.

"I guess I'm looking for something to eat." I admitted.

"In the _garbage_?" the blonde continued, placing her hands on her dainty hips. "There are much better places to find your lunch!"

"How do you know?" I asked her, my ears flattening to my head.

"I learned from the best." The blonde girl stepped a little closer, and I realized one feature of her that I hadn't noticed before. On top of her head were two furry ears.

She was a neko.

"What's your name?" she asked me, tilting her head to the side.

"Alice." I breathed, walking up in front of her.

"I'm Rosalie." the blonde told me. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

She held her porcelain hand out towards me and I reached out to shake it. For the first time, I realized how dirty I had let myself get on my own. My hand was clammy and scratched compared to hers, and mine wasn't lined with rings, unlike Rosalie's. Besides looking physically elegant, her clothing and her jewelry was elegant as well. It was hard to believe she could be a stray neko like me.

"Follow me, Alice. I'll show you a better place to get something to eat." Rosalie took my elbow and lead me out of the alley and down the street before I could even argue with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"We're going to get you some food." Rosalie let go of my arm but kept the pace with me. For a minute I felt like Edward, when I had taken him home with me from the park. Is this what he felt like, hungry and cold? Lost?

Rosalie took me to the entrance of a pub. There was a sign above the door in bright red letters that said SORRY, WE'RE CLOSED. The pub didn't even had a name. I knew it was a pub because as soon as Rosalie opened the door the air smelled like alcohol. It reminded me of Maria, and I hated it.

"This is where you live?" I asked tentatively, reaching out to grab Rosalie's sleeve. The air was musty and I felt uncomfortable and out of place. It sure didn't seem like a home to me.

"Oh, no. This is where my master works." Rosalie explained. "He owns this bar."

Things were made more clear to me. Rosalie wasn't a stray. She looked nice because she had an owner who took good care of her. I wondered if her owner was anything like Jasper, but I doubted it. Jasper was one of a kind.

"Rose!" A tall man with trimmed facial hair and greased-back hair stepped out from behind the bar. "There you are, sweetheart. I was beginning to worry about you!"

I watched as the man grabbed Rosalie's hips and pulled her smaller body against his. They kissed in a rather sloppy way, and I tried not to look. Almost as soon as the man's eyes opened he noticed me and pulled away from the embrace.

"Oh, and who is this little kitten?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"This is Alice," Rosalie answered for me. "She's really hungry."

"Well then we better get her some lunch now, shouldn't we?" The man motioned for us to follow him through the door behind the bar. On the other side was a kitchen, although it wasn't nearly as big or grand as the one I was used to. "What do you like to eat, kitten?"

Two pairs of eyes landed on me and I tried to stutter out words, but Rosalie interrupted me.

"She was digging in the garbage! I don't think she would mind eating anything right now!" she hissed, as if the man had asked something inappropriate.

"I don't mind." I mumbled, looking down at the floor beneath my feet.

In response, the man began to pull open cabinets, looking for something edible to feed me. He pulled out a can of tuna and I let out a squeal of delight.

"You like tuna, do you? Rose likes it too, that's the only reason I'd ever have cans of tuna in a bar..." The man seemed to be talking to himself more than to me as he opened the can and handed it to me with a tiny fork.

"Thank you." I said as I began shoveling tuna into my mouth. The taste was more than satisfying after being so hungry all morning.

"You're a tiny little thing, y'know that?" The man continued. "You got a home?"

I swallowed hard and looked up at him, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"No," I answered. "Not anymore."

"Can she stay with us? Can she?" Rosalie begged, wrapping one of her slender arms around his waist.

"I'm not really looking for anywhere to stay." I said quickly. "I'm just passing through town."

"Where are you headed?" The man persisted. I didn't know where I was headed so I shrugged my shoulders. "Well," he continued with a smug expression, "You better be careful, then. There's a blizzard heading in from the North. You would be better off staying with us until it passes through."

I remembered the thick fluffy powder that covered the front yard during the last snow storm. It was cold and would definitely be hard to tred through, especially without warmer clothes.

"Alice, he's right. You could die out there." Rosalie pulled away from her owner and took my hand. "Please stay with us?"

I looked back and forth between the two of them. Rosalie's eyes sparkled with excitement and the man looked rather amused, like he had already expected my answer. After all, it seemed like the smart thing to do.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Rosalie squealed and threw her arms around me. Besides shy Edward, I had never had another neko friend before. I had forgotten how childish and energetic we could be, even after we grew up. Rosalie was a perfect example of that. As she jumped up and down, her long blonde curls bounced off her shoulders and flew from side to side.

I smiled and danced around with her in a circle, realizing that maybe staying with Rosalie and her master wasn't such a bad idea.

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Rosalie and I spent the day in the back room of the pub, hidden and out of the way of the customers coming in and out during the afternoon. Once night fell we could hear the pub alive with talking, laughing, the clinking of glasses, and thumping music. As uncomfortable as I felt being one piece of drywall away from a hundred or so drunk adults, Rosalie kept me company and it wasn't so bad.

Rosalie told me the story of how she had met her owner.

"I wasn't born in the mill," She began as she sat on her knees and focused her bright yellow eyes on me. "My mother was a housemaid to a very rich man and my father was a stray. They met one day in the garden and fell in love."

Her story sounded like a fairytale to me, like something I would have read in one of the many books in the Whitlock library. Rosalie sighed and went on.

"My father was hit by a truck when I was still a baby." she frowned. "My mother raised me, but as soon as I was old enough her owner tried to sell me."

"That's horrible." I whispered. The blonde neko nodded solemnly.

"I was scared, so I ran away. I didn't tell my mother where I was going or anything. She was probably heart-broken." Rosalie's eyes shifted to the floor.

"What happened after you left?" I prodded, inching closer to her as if she were about to tell me a secret.

"That's when I met him..." Rosalie closed her eyes and let out a dreamy sigh. "Emmett."

I didn't know who Emmett was, but I didn't think it was her owner.

"Emmett was the strongest, bravest neko I've ever known." Rosalie went on. "He was a gentleman too. He saw me in the cold and gave me his only jacket." She began to blush, as if she was reliving the memories. "I stuck to him like glue, and he taught me how to survive on the streets."

"Did you love him?" I asked. My mind flashed back to Jasper.

"Yes... I loved him. He made me feel safe. Eventually, we slept together... and we were going to have children and raise them to be free and happy, like we were." Her eyes clouded over sadly, and I realized she was speaking in past tense.

"But something had to have happened." I mumbled, realizing that Rosalie was a pet now and there was no Emmett around, nor any children. Rosalie nodded her head.

"I fell extremely ill and lost my litter. Emmett didn't have the ability to take care of me anymore, so he left me behind."

"He just... left?" I gasped, feeling my heart ache for her.

"Emmett blamed himself for the miscarriage. He thought if I found a nice owner that I would be better taken care of." Rosalie sighed. "Better than he could take care of me on the streets, anyway. A few days later, Royce found me in the same alley you were digging in this morning. He asked if I wanted to stay with him, and I said yes."

"You gave up your freedom, just like that?" I gawked, playing idly with my tail. "You could have followed him, or-"

"I could have." Rosalie interrupted me. "But what would be the point in that? He left because he didn't want to be weighed down anymore. If I had ran after him, he would have only ran faster. That's the most important part about living on the streets. You have to do what's best for you."

I realized how much older Rosalie was compared to me. She was taller and had a much more bodacious body, especially compared to my pixie-like build. But she had already been pregnant and nearly had children. I couldn't imagine myself being that position for many years to come. Rosalie was like an older, wiser sister. I appreciated her knowledge and respected her.

Rosalie stood up and I understood that the conversation was over.

"It's almost closing hour." she announced. "Once all the men are gone, Royce will wipe the counter and take us home. You'll like it there, it's nice. Royce's father was a millionaire."

I shrugged slightly. After living in the Whitlock residence, it seemed that no house would impress me more. It probably didn't have a secret library, either.

It was late and I was beginning to get sleepy again. After munching up three cans of tuna throughout the day I wasn't hungry anymore, but my body was ready for a long nap. I curled up on the ground and relaxed my eyes for what seemed like a brief moment.

Before I knew it, I felt myself being lifted up into someone's arms. My eyes flickered open and I found myself looking up at Rosalie's master. He didn't say anything, and neither did I.

He set me in the back seat of a car and held the passenger door open for Rosalie before getting in himself. It surprised me to see how well he took care of his neko, considering I thought Jasper and Chives had been the only ones to have a heart for our kind. I wondered if he loved her.

It wasn't a long drive back to their residence. I climbed out of the car and looked up at the home that was almost as elegant as Rosalie's jewelry. It may not have been as big as the Whitlock home, but the stone front and the two-story pillars reminded me of my old dollhouse.

Rosalie pulled me inside by my wrist and began opening doors, describing what each room was and what it was used for. My eyes were too heavy and my head was too foggy to remember where anything was. She showed me to her bedroom, which was painted cream with regal maroon carpet. Her bed was the size of Jasper's, but it was perfectly made- not a pillow out of place.

"You can sleep in here." the blonde told me, nudging me towards the bed. I flicked my ear.

"Where are you going to sleep?" I asked with a confused look.

"With my master, of course." Rosalie smiled. "What kind of neko would I be if I didn't sleep with my master?"

I stared at her for a moment with pursed lips, unsure what she meant. A good neko slept with her owner? The innocent kind of sleeping, where you felt safe in their arms? Or the sensual kind of sleeping, where the bed creaked and you moaned each others names at night?

I remembered the passionate kiss that Rosalie and her owner shared at the pub. I assumed she meant the sensual kind.

"Oh, okay." I said calmly, lifting myself up onto the royalty themed bed. "Thank you for allowing me to share your home." Chives had always said that manners were the most important part of being a guest. Even if I felt uncomfortable in the unfamiliar house, I had to use my manners.

"It's nice to have another neko around." Rosalie leaned in the doorway and curved her glossy lips into a smile. "Goodnight, Alice."

"Goodnight." I answered, pulling back the blankets and climbing underneath them. Rosalie flicked the light off and left me alone in the big dark room. I laid there for a moment, pretending I was back in my own bedroom or tucked into Jasper's large bed.

A few seconds later I was racing across the room to turn on the light switch, then running back to jump in the bed. There was no nightlight in this scary room, and no Jasper to keep me safe from the monsters in the closet.

As I laid there with the covers pulled up to my chin, I realized I had never felt so alone in my life.

* * *

As Royce predicted, the following morning brought nearly three feet of snow and it was still coming down. Rosalie and I sat idly on the couch in the living room watching an old cartoon while Royce paced around upstairs.

"It's a weekday. He still has to open the bar." Rosalie explained. "But we can stay home if you'd like. I only go to work with him because I get lonely here by myself."

I felt much better after taking a hot bath and getting dressed in some of Rosalie's smaller clothes, but now the idea of getting up and going out in the cold weather, and much less staying in the storage room of the bar, sounded very unappealing.

Royce left in a rush and Rosalie and I stayed home. The entire day we sat on the couch hardly entertaining ourselves. At one point we pulled out a stack of board games and puzzles to keep ourselves occupied. The kitchen was ours to manipulate, and although the snacks were sweet and delicious, nothing compared to Chives' homecooked meals. I found myself growing increasingly homesick throughout the day.

Sometime during the evening, when Rosalie and I were watching another movie on HBO, the front door opened loudly and three pairs of footsteps came bursting inside. I reached my head around the arm of the couch to investigate.

Royce was accompanied by two other men, approximately the same age. One had long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail with trimmed facial hair. The other man had even longer jet-black hair that hung down around his shoulders. All three of them were laughing and pushing each other from side to side.

I looked to Rosalie, expecting her to recognize these friends of her master. However, she had a disapproving frown.

"Do you know them?" I asked quietly, ducking my head back down. She shook her head, which made me slightly more uncomfortable.

"Sometimes he brings friends home from work." She whispered back. "They're drunk."

"Rose!" Royce's slurred voice called from the front door. "Rose, come here. Come here, Rose!"

"I'm coming, Master!" Rosalie put on an obviously fake smile and hurried to her owner's side. I heard her purring loudly from across the room.

"There she is. There's my Rosalie. Isn't she a looker, fellas?"

"A looker indeed." One of the men answered, his voice sending chills down my spine. I listened silently from my hiding spot on the couch. "Just like you said she was. Where's the other one? The little one?"

Before I could formulate a plan to hide myself, one of the men approached the couch and noticed me sunken into the cushions.

"There you are. She's a cute one, Royce. A little young, maybe, but she'll do..." Two hands grabbed me around my waist and pulled me up off the couch. It was the dark-haired man with dark eyes. I squealed and wrestled away from him, running across the room to hide against the wall.

"Leave me alone!" I cried out hesitantly, feeling my privacy threatened. I shot a frightened glance at Rosalie, who was being held against Royce's body from behind. Her dress was pushed up around her hips, and one of his hands were snaked into her panties. She looked at ease, as if the touch was normal.

"Now Aro, Royce didn't bring us here for nothing. There are two of us and only one neko to share." The blonde said from across the room. "We'll flip a coin. Heads and I get her first. Tails and you get her second. How's that?"

"You're a dirty cheater, James." huffed Aro. He was still heading towards me. "I'll get her first, and you can have my sloppy seconds-"

"Shut up!" I screamed, catching the sudden attention of everyone in the room. "You better leave me alone, or I'll... I'll..." I was at a loss for words as panic began to take me over.

"You'll do what, sweetheart?" Aro smiled. "You don't have a say in this." His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist in a rough grasp. The air around him held the stench of alcohol, and I held my breath. In the next few seconds, I formulated a very simple escape plan. If I scratched Aro, and raced past James and Royce I could make it to the front door, which I noticed had been left unlocked. The only flaws with that plan were that my backpack remained upstairs in Rosalie's room, and there was three feet of snow outside. My feet were bare.

It was my only chance. With my free hand, I unsheathed my claws and swiped at Aro's face. The second he released me, I took off across the living room.

"Alice, wait!" Rosalie called from somewhere behind me. I dodged James' uncoordinated hands and yanked the front door open. My instincts brought me to running as fast as I could across the surface of the snow. After a few uneasy stumbles into snowbanks, I gained a steady pace and ran away from the elegant home.

As soon as the house was out of sight, I dove under the shelter of a tree and masked myself from sight. I evaluated my situation.

I had no supplies, no shoes, no jacket, and I was in the middle of a blizzard. I just barely escaped a potential rape, and my only friend was trapped in her home with three drunk and hormonal men. There was nothing left to do but move on to the next town, and I had idea how long that would take.

So I started walking.

As I walked I began wondering about Jasper again. I wondered if he missed me, or if he was worried about me out on my own. I wondered if he had spoken to Maria, or told her that I was gone. I wondered if Maria had pressed charges on him for my violent attack. I wondered if there was some sort of neko police searching for me.

I walked as far as I could push myself to go. The town I was in now was unfamiliar and just as physically unappealing as the last. My feet were completely numb and dangerous shades of purple, and eventually I couldn't support my own weight on them. I dropped somewhere along the street and lay in a crumpled heap of frozen limbs.

Sometime before falling into a dizzying blackness, I heard a fuzzy voice calling out to me.

"Hello? Are you hurt? Can you hear me? Hello? Oh, Jesus..."

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**Oooooh boy! That gave me goosebumps just writing it! James and Aro were a nice twist, yeah? And don't worry, Rosalie will be coming back into play later! ****Can you guys guess who little Alice is going to run into next? **

**Keep reviewing! :3 Nyaaaa! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry that it took so long to update! I've been extremely busy with the end of senior year coming up and all! Plus I've been caught up in after-school rehearsals every day until the late afternoon! It's absolutely exhausting! Have I mentioned that I'm sick? Yep. Nonetheless, thank you for all of the reviews! All of your guesses were so predictable... but I decided to add a little twist to Alice's next companion. I hope you enjoy!**

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The first thing I remember about this world was pain. In the womb of my mother, I remember being kicked and pushed from side to side in my tiny little inclosure. I did not remember the sound of my mother's voice, but I could feel her hands around me in attempts to protect me. I had been waiting for the day that I would get to see my mother's face and hold her back. But the moment I was born, I was wrapped in a blanket and taken away. Instead, the first face I saw was the disgusted grimace of a bad man. I don't recall him ever saying anything, but he didn't take care of me.

After my identification number was carved into me, I was handed off to a female neko, who became my temporary guardian. She was young and bruised, but she nursed me and looked after me for the first few months. Sometimes she would sing to me, and it would make my chills and hunger go away. I grew quickly into the small child Jasper had first met.

I asked my foster mother if she was really my mother, and she said that she wasn't. She explained to me, in the simplest of terms, that nekos were separated from their families so the recognition of kin doesn't become a hinderance later. In other words, I had never met my parents, but we may have been in the same facility the entire time. Did that mean I had brothers and sisters too?

Once I reached six weeks of age, I was taken away from my foster mother and thrown into the cage room with the other neko. The beatings began when they realized I couldn't stand up. My foster mother told me it was because they had hurt my mother while I was in her stomach. I had very weak legs and as many times as I tried to stand, I would always tumble back down.

Usually the bad men would kick me or throw me into walls. Sometimes they would pull out my hair.

One day, a bad man dragged me into another room and violated me.

As much as I fought and screamed, I was physically helpless. He hurt me worse than anyone else ever had. When he was done, he took me back to the cage room completely naked so that all of the other females could see the kind of treatment they would recieve for behaving badly. A few nekos tried to comfort me, but I don't remember hardly much after that.

Until Jasper came, I thought I was going to die.

Jasper had been my light at the end of the tunnel. He had given me that warmth and comfort since he first laid eyes on me, and I loved him more than anything.

But now I was laying in a mound of snow in the middle of a run-down town, and I didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

For some time, I realized that I was unconscious. I could hear someone calling out to me but the voice was very distant and I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. It felt as if my entire body was immobile. When I was finally able to come around, I realized with a jolt of fear that I had no idea where I was.

I was laying curled up ontop of a large cushion that sat in front of a crackling fire. My skin was warm from my head to my feet. I gave my toes a quick wiggle to make sure they were there. On my feet were big wooly socks, aiding in their warmth. Whoever had found me had taken care of me, I realized.

"You're awake." A new voice startled me and I lifted my head. Talking to me was a very large, bare-chested, and very intimidating individual. I might have been about the size of one of his arms. "You're lucky I found you when I did. You could have lost your feet. What were you thinking, running around outside without shoes on?"

"I didn't have time to grab any!" I protested, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "Who said I needed your help anyway?"

"Brave words for such a tiny thing." he answered with a sarcastic snort. "You want to leave? Go ahead." He pointed his hand at a nearby door. As his sleeve slid up, I spotted four neatly carved numbers in his wrist. His serial number.

"You're a neko." I piped in surprise. The male looked confused for a moment and then laughed.

"I was a neko." He corrected me. "A very long time ago."

"What?" My breath caught in my throat. Surely enough, I realized that the tall male had no ears atop his head and no tail poking out from behind him. "How did you-"

"A long, horrible process." he interrupted me. "How old are you, like ten? Where is your owner?" He was changing the subject, but I wasn't going to forget the topic at hand.

"Sixteen," I argued. "I ran away from my owner."

"That's stupid." He laughed loudly, sitting down next to me by the fire. "It will only be worse when they find you."

"It wasn't like that..." I trailed off, wondering for a split second what Jasper would do if he had found me. "You've got to tell me how you became a human. I'll do anything."

"No. You're too young." The male patted my head roughly and I winced. "Do yourself a favor and go home. There is nothing out here for a kitten like you."

"My name is Alice!" I snapped. It wasn't the first time someone had called me a kitten. Although I was smile, I was no longer as young as I looked.

"Fine, Alice." The male stood up and walked across the room to a single twin-size mattress pushed up against the wall.

I flicked the tip of my tail in annoyance and started to get up. Before I could stand completely, my legs buckled and I fell forward onto the carpet. I let out a squeak before my chin hit the carpet.

"You're kidding..." The male was beside me again, holding me beneath my underarms and helping me up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, embarrassed that I had fallen so easily in front of him. I must have appeared weaker than I was before. "Just lost my balance, that's all."

"Yeah right." He set me down in front of the fire again, this time stretching my legs out in front of me. Gently, he worked the wool sock off one of my feet. "You see this?" I peered down my legs at the bare foot and winced. It was still tinted purple from treading through the snow. My toes were darker than the rest of my skin. "You've got frostbite pretty bad. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes." I lied. I really had no idea what that condition meant.

The male saw right through me.

"It means that your nerves have been severely damaged by the temperature. You'll need to stay off them for now. Stay here and warm up. I'll bring you something hot to eat."

Sleep and a hot meal sounded great, but I knew nothing about my host. The fact that he was an ex-neko was enough to trust him, I decided.

"What can I call you?" I finally asked, tugging the sock back onto my foot. "I told you my name, now you have to tell me yours." The male turned around again, looking annoyed.

"Jacob Black."

"Can I call you Jake?"

"No."

"Okay."

I didn't know it then, but Jacob and I would become good friends. He took care of me for the next few days, helping me around his tiny home and making sure I was eating. Although he seemed to be annoyed by my presence at first, he began to warm up to me.

I had asked him a few times how he had lost his ears and his tail, but every time he would stubbornly refuse or change the subject.

"It's none of your business." he would say.

I respected his privacy, but the thought of becoming human became impossible before now.

On the sixth day of my stay with Jacob, there was a thundering noise at the door in the late afternoon. Jacob didn't seem phased by the pounding knock. He stepped over casually and opened the door.

"Nice to know you're still alive." I couldn't see around Jacob's enormous frame, but whoever he was speaking to was hidden behind him in the open doorway. I tilted my head to try and peer around him, but it was no use.

"Jake... it's good to see you, man." The voice was deep and a little raspier than Jacob's. It made me mad that the stranger got to call him Jake, but he wouldn't let me call him Jake. It didn't seem fair.

What made this guy so special, that he got to call Jacob by a nickname?

"I'm freezing my tail off out here." The stranger spoke again. My ear twitched.

"Come in." Jacob took a step sideways, and I got a full view at the newcomer. He was nearly the same size as Jacob, although not nearly as well-built. His hair was fairly short, he had a large toothy grin, and he had a nearly child-like face. He was a neko.

"Woah... Jake, you didn't tell me you found a mate."

"A mate? Cut-out your cat talk. This is Alice, and she isn't my _mate. _She's only staying here for a little while." Jacob lifted his hand and motioned towards me. I suddenly felt self-conscious again, like the day that Jasper had taken me home and the day Rosalie found me digging through the garbage cans. The neko's cold dark eyes landed on me, but his toothy grin didn't falter.

"She's cute." he smirked.

"Watch it." I hissed, bringing my knees up to my chest and crossing my arms around my legs. "I'm not up for grabs, either."

"She's got a tongue." Jacob snorted. "Alice, this is my half-brother, Emmett."

Emmett. I ran the familiar name through my head and realized at once that this was the same neko that Rosalie had encountered.

"You're Emmett." I repeated.

"That's what he said." The neko laughed.

"Your half-brother?" I was looking at Jacob now. Although they were both rather large males, they didn't look too similar. I wouldn't have been able to see the resemblence.

"We share the same mother." Jacob motioned for Emmett to take a seat next to the fire. I stood up and crossed the room to the couch, not wanting to sit next to the same rebellious neko that had abandoned Rosalie.

"I don't bite." said Emmett as he sat down in front of the mantle. "Jumpy, isn't she? It isn't like you to take in strays, Jake."

"I took you in." he retorted.

"Good thing, too. Who knows where I would be if I didn't have this place to come back to." Emmett stretched out in front of the fire, warming his back against the flames.

"Where were you?" Jacob asked, moving closer to his half-brother in front of the fire. "It's been a week and a half."

"It doesn't matter. I couldn't find her. She's probably dead."

"Who?" I jumped to my feet, holding my fists against my sides. "Because if you're looking for Rosalie, she's stuck with a bartender who brings over his drunk adult friends from work to have their way with her whenever they want!" It felt good to finally speak my word against Emmett.

For the first time, his smile turned into a straight line. His eyes looked shocked.

"You know Rosalie? She's alive?"

I nodded slowly. Emmett's lips curved into smile again. It seemed like he was thinking of an inside joke of some sort. He even let out a slight chuckle.

"So she turned out an alright pet after all."

What he said hit me hard in the chest. Emmett was fine with the fact that Rosalie was living a life of bondage and selflessness. This boy, who Rosalie looked up to and adored more than life itself, the father of her unborn child, didn't care that she was suffering with a strange man who took advantage of her.

"You were looking for her though, right?" I continued with a struggled breath in attempts to hold back my anger. "You wanted to know that she was doing okay."

"Yeah. I love her." Emmett ran his hands through his short hair. "Rose is... she's perfect." He glanced off in the distance, as if in a daydream. As quick as that weakness in his eyes showed, he snapped out of it. "But I gave her up. Whatever owner she's ended up with now is who she's stuck with. That's her life now. And it wouldn't be fair of me to mess that up again."

I stood up so quickly that I nearly stepped on my own tail that was hovering between my feet.

"You- you don't have any idea, do you?!" I shouted.

"Alice, sit down and stop yelling." Jacob warned me.

"Who do you think you are? You think she wanted you to leave her alone? Did you even think about how she felt?"

"Who the hell are you to tell me what I felt?" Emmett snapped, jumping to his feet. At that moment, I realized the incredible size difference between the two of us.

"Emmett, she's a kid, let it go." Jacob tried to break up the rising tension, but it was no use.

"I know about the baby, but it wasn't your fault! She never blamed you!" I argued, standing in front of him bravely.

"You better shut your mouth right now, or I'm gonna-"

"She loved you and you gave her up!"

"Both of you shut the hell up!" I wasn't sure when Jacob stood up but he was blocking the two of us from advancing any closer to each other. "Alice, if you keep shouting accusations, you're out of here. Got it?" His dark eyes glared into mine. I huffed in response. "Emmett, Alice is my guest and you're going to have to deal with it." Emmett gave the same huff of annoyance.

"It's really getting bad out there." Jacob continued slowly, glancing out the window at the falling snow. The wind made it appear as if Jacob's home was in the middle of an arctic tundra rather than a worn-down town.

I returned to my seat on the couch and curled my knees up to my chest. It took a moment for my fur to lie flat. What Emmett did was really no concern of mine, but Rosalie was my friend and if he gave her up so easily, then he was no friend of mine.

Jacob fetched Emmett some dry clothes from his bedroom and laid his wet ones in front of the fire to dry. The two of them sat at the kitchen table speaking in low voices. With such sensitive ears, it wasn't hard to overhear what they were talking about. I curled up onto my side and nestled comfortably into the arm of the sofa.

"So it really works then?"

"Do I look like a neko to you?"

"Is there any left?"

"Not enough for a full transformation."

"When can you get more?"

"It isn't a trip to the supermarket, Emmett."

"Well, I can help!"

"It's dangerous. That mill is guarded better than the prison."

"I've gotten out of there alive before, haven't I?"

I was gathering bits of information from their hushed conversation. Whatever Jacob used to become human was only obtainable at the neko mill. That meant that as a neko, Jacob had somehow gotten in and out of the mill without getting caught. I also learned that Emmett had escaped the mill as well.

"I could walk in as a browsing customer… but they wouldn't let me in the back hallways." Jacob murmured. "If you were seen, you'd be recognized. There's still a price on your head."

"You're right…"

So there was a price on Emmett's rebellious head? Maybe that's why he didn't think Rosalie was safe with him on the streets.

"What about the girl?"

"Alice?"

I forced my chest to rise and fall in a steady pattern. A low purr rumbled in my throat, and I was sure that they would think I was fast asleep. I didn't want them to know that I had been listening.

"No way. She's too young." Jacob continued.

"Maybe she's not the brightest, but I bet she's quick." Emmett countered.

"She's also listening to every word we're saying. Aren't you, Alice?"

My tail twitched with frustration and I pulled myself into a sitting position.

"Let me help." I pleaded, setting my hands in my lap. "I want to become a human."

"You're just a child! You don't know what you want." Jacob turned to look at me. "This… this isn't a game. You could get captured in that mill. You could get killed."

"But if I can help, then I can be human." I whispered. "I'd do anything. I don't care if it hurts more than anything in the world. If I don't become a human, then I'll have to live my entire life hiding. I'll never know my family, my friends are all slaves, and I can't be with the one person I love because I have a tail. I'm created to be miserable for the rest of my life. What could hurt more than that?"

There was a long silence and Jacob looked away from me.

"If she wants to help, then let her." Emmett said. "Let her make her own decisions, for once."

Emmett's grin had returned.

The answer was extremely powerful injections obtainable in the laboratories of the neko mill facilities. Jacob explained to me that he had once been a small frail neko, much like myself. In his desperate attempts to become human, he broke into the laboratories and put himself through a series of excruciating chemical injections. It was, as he said before, a long and horrible process. He barely escaped the mill and ran for the woods in the middle of the night. The alteration to his chemical composition was so traumatic that he collapsed and convulsed on the ground for several hours.

About twelve hours later, his cat ears began to burn. He rapidly clawed at them until they fell off. His tail followed soon behind. There was no blood, but the horrible sensation of fire engulfing his body. He told me that it was an agony that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

But I wanted it. I wanted that pain more than anything, because I would give anything to be human.

For me.

And for Jasper.

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**Woah. This is getting intense. Is Alice going to get her wish? Will she finally be able to become human? Or will she die trying?**

**Stay tuned for Lucky Cat! 3 Nyaaaa! :3**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, my friends! I'm sooooooo sorry for this wait on this chapter! My life has been all kinds of crazy and I lost interest in writing. But with your help I've finally thrown another chapter together for you! Lucky Cat is not over yet! On another note, thank you all for being so loyal and keeping me from giving up on this story! There should be at least three or four more chapters to Lucky Cat! **

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The following morning I woke up in a very warm place: nestled between two large boys in a queen-size bed. I didn't remember falling asleep between them. They were both snoring softly and each of them faced the opposite direction, leaving me in the middle with their backs turned towards me. Still, I was so close against them that I could feel the rhythmic rise and fall of their chests.

My ears twitched and I sat up slowly, careful not to wake either of them. The clothes that Jacob had let me borrow were hanging off my shoulders and I felt smaller than usual.

After a yawn, I wiggled out of my comfortable spot and made my way to the bathroom down the hallway. I liked the way the plush carpet felt against my bare feet. The bathroom door closed with a quiet click and I flicked the light on, nearly blinding myself. The cold tile was chilling and I scampered to the little fuzzy rug in front of the tub.

I had no idea what time it was, but it seemed like a good time to take a long hot bath. The sound of water running from the faucet was calming as I undressed. My body hadn't changed much, but I realized that hunger was no longer an issue when living with Jacob. My stomach didn't curve inwards anymore, and instead it was rather flat.

Once the tub was filled and the air was steamy, I sank down into the porcelain bathtub and let out a small sigh. Taking baths reminded me of my time with Jasper. Maybe that's why I had woken up in the late hours of the night. I missed Jasper, Chives, and the little things about the Whitlock Estate that made life enjoyable.

I spent a considerable amount of time in the bathtub, until my fingertips felt like raisins and the water had turned lukewarm. Jacob didn't have any bubble bath, but he had a pleasant scented body wash that I used instead.

I wrapped myself in a towel and shook water from my hair. It had grown to nearly my shoulders, which was much longer than I preferred it to be. I began digging through the cabinets for a pair of scissors, letting my towel drop to the ground as I did so.

There was a pair beneath the sink in a box full of necessities like toothpaste and shampoo. I began hastily snipping away at the wavy dark locks around my neck until it was trimmed into a nice pixie-cut.

After admiring my reflection in the mirror for a moment, I bent down to pick up my towel. At the same time, the bathroom door opened. I let out a terrified squeal and threw the towel in front of myself. I whipped around to see that Emmett was standing in the light of the bathroom, holding his arm over his eyes.

"Jesus!"

"Emmett!" I hissed. "You didn't look, did you?!" I could feel my cheeks burning red with embarrassment.

"How can I? I'm blind! What are you doing up, anyway?" Emmett kept his arm up to shield his eyes from the bathroom light. "It's the middle of the night!"

I fixed the towel around myself and secured it in a knot in front of my chest.

"A girl can't take a bath when she wants to?" I questioned with a sarcastic tone. "What are you doing up then?"

"I heard you thumping around in here, thought you might have been a robber... what did you do to your hair?" Emmett had dropped his arm to his side and was staring at the dark locks of hair littering the tile floor.

"It's how I like it." I answered simply. "There's no robber in here, just me. You can go back to sleep now." I tried to walk past him through the doorway, but Emmett blocked my path.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" he motioned towards Jacob's folded clothes on the back of the toilet. I glanced over and bit my lip. Of course I was going to get dressed, but not when a five foot seven neko was standing there staring at me.

"Yes." I stated.

"They're a little big, aren't they?" he asked.

"Maybe a little." I glanced back at them again, holding my towel tighter around myself.

"Or maybe you're just too small." Emmett went on in a teasing tone. "Was your mother small? Is it hereditary?"

"Are you trying to be funny?" I snapped defensively. "Do you know your mother, Emmett?"

Emmett got quiet, but his smile never changed.

I closed the door in his face.

That morning, Jacob found me sleeping on the floor in the bathroom. I hadn't left since my encounter with Emmett and I hadn't put my clothes on either. He said I was lying by the bathtub wrapped in a towel and for a minute he thought I had died.

I followed Jacob down to the kitchen, still wrapped in my fuzzy towel, where he prepared a coffee mug of warm milk. I think he only knew that warm milk was good because he used to be a neko himself.

After that, I felt much better.

"It always used to make me feel better." He told me as he handed me the mug. "Be careful, it's hot."

I sat on the ground at Jacob's feet and sipped at the milk. It reminded me of the times that I would sit at Jasper or Chives' feet in the kitchen. Jacob bent down in front of me and gave me a pat on my head.

"What's got you bothered?" he asked. I shrugged. He was quiet for a moment and then continued. "You don't have to go back to the mill. I know how scary it can be-"

"I'm not scared!" I shouted. "That isn't what's wrong, Jacob."

"Then what is?"

I didn't want to explain it to him, but I didn't want to keep quiet either. I took a few more sips of my milk before speaking.

"How did you find out that Emmett was your half-brother?" I asked.

"Our mother told me before she died." Jacob let out a sigh.

"How did you know that she was your mother?" I continued.

"She told me. She recognized me by the shade of my skin. I have Quillette tribe blood, and I was the only young male neko that could have been hers. She told me that I had a half-brother too, but I had to find him on my own..." Jacob stood up and started to lead me towards the living room. I carried my mug of milk and sat down on the couch next to him.

"When I saw her, she was very sick." He said. "I slept next to her that night, and when I woke up, she was gone." There was a pain in Jacob's eyes that I recognized. "The men in white coats took her away. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Jacob patted my back and I rested my cheek against his arm.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled.

"You didn't know your parents, did you?" he asked me. "That's why you're so upset. Emmett said something, didn't he?"

I nodded my head solemnly.

"I miss them." I explained. "I miss them, even though I never met them."

"Being human won't change that." Jacob told me sternly, bringing up the mill once again. "It isn't all that it sounds like."

"You chose to be a human." I countered back at him. "And Emmett is choosing too. I can do this Jacob. I can." I set my empty mug on the coffee table and stood up, as if ending the conversation. "Just tell me what to do."

Jacob looked like he was about to argue, but then let out a quiet sigh and shook his head in defeat.

"Alright, here's the plan…"

* * *

The three of us stood outside the towering walls of the neko mill facility, which loomed over me just as tauntingly as they did in my memories. The parking lot was packed, which would make it easier for us to slip in and out of the laboratory without being noticed. Jacob informed us that the chemicals needed for the transformation were located in the deeper chambers of the facility, out of reach from the public.

Fortunately, Emmett had a remarkable memory. There was a basement window on the opposite side of the building which led straight into the storage room. As long as the room remained vacant, the only problem that we could run into was if we were caught sneaking around back.

To avoid this, Jacob went undercover as a browsing customer. It was strange to see him dressed as a rich businessman, wearing a black suit and a shiny red tie.

While Jacob distracted the employees, Emmett and I were going to sneak down into the storage unit and gather the required chemicals.

"Remember what I said?" Jacob whispered into Emmett's ear. Emmett nodded curtly and his lips began to recite the exact chemical compounds that we needed. "Make sure you don't get caught." He finished, giving his half-brother a pat on the back. Jacob turned to me and sighed. "You too." he added.

Jacob stepped onto the pavement and began walking briskly towards the main doors. That was our cue to start our way around the back of the building.

"The security is so tight on the inside that there's hardly any out here." Emmett informed me as we shuffled through the cold snow. "A few security cameras, but I know where all of them are. Just follow me."

I had no choice but to follow Emmett's command. My heart began to pound in my chest as I realized something.

_This will be my last day as a human._

I nearly ran into Emmett as he came to a sharp hault.

"Look." He pointed towards the upper corner of the roof, where I had to squint my eyes to look.

"A camera?" I assumed, flattening my ears.

Emmett grabbed my sleeve and pulled me towards the siding of the building.

"Stay against the wall when you move." He told me. I nodded and followed his instructions, moving slyly against the wall until we had reached another corner.

Beside our ankles was a hinged window, dusty and grey from the lack of use. We crouched down on either side of it and slowly peered inside. No shadows moved, but it was too dark to tell if anyone was standing stagnant inside.

Emmett motioned for me to be quiet and began to tug on the hinge, rattling it slightly. There was no noises from inside the room, so I had to assume that it was empty. If all things went well, we would be able to sneak in and out of there before anyone suspected a thing.

"You go first." Emmett said, lifting up the window and holding it open. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Why me?"

"You wanted to help, didn't you?" he demanded. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded slowly, unable to refuse. He was right. It was my job to get in there and scout the room out. I got down in front of the window and stuck my feet through, followed by my legs until I was halfway inside.

The drop to the floor was higher than I expected and my ankles popped under the pressure of my weight. I fell to the side and rubbed them quickly before standing again, eager to examine my surroundings.

_You're doing this for Jasper. You're going to become human for him._

The room was dark, but it made it easier for my eyes to see. There were shelves upon shelves of vials and bottles of all different sizes. It was easy to imagine the bad men grabbing these vials and subjecting poor nekos to its effects.

"What do you see?" Emmett called from above. I could see his sillhouette in the opening of the window.

"We're definitely in the right room." I answered, taking a few steps and reading the incomprehensible labels on the bottles. "What are we looking for?"

"Jake said three bottles, two of them are purple and one is orange. Grab as much as you can."

As I peered down the shelves, I realized that knowing the colors of the chemicals were not going to help me. All of the shelves were stocked high with chemicals of all colors with different labels on each one.

I was going to need to use my instinct and everything I had learned from reading the medical dictionary in the hidden library.

My footsteps were quick and silent as I searched the shelves. If I could find anything with a recognizable label, it would narrow down the search. Everything was listed with scientific terms.

If Jacob could find these chemicals when he was on the run from the bad men, then I could find them now.

My eyes landed on a shelf labeled "Homo sapien Retransfiguration Formulas" with a number of colored vials.

"I think I found some!" I called up to Emmett eagerly, grabbing several of the purple and orange vials and stuffing them in my pockets. Surely Jacob would be able to recognize which ones he had taken. I could only pray that I had grabbed the correct ones.

Just as I had finished stuffing my pockets, the steel door swung open with a loud mechanical beep to announce entry to the storage unit. My hair stood on end as I stumbled backwards and bumped into the wall, my heart beating out of my chest.

I couldn't see whoever had entered the room, but I could hear their footsteps. I shot a glance over to the window I had entered, but Emmett's shadow was no longer there and the window was resting closed. I was trapped.

**What's going to happen next? Is Alice going to get caught? Will she ever become human? And how is Jasper doing without his Alice? Keep reading Lucky Cat to find out! :3 Nyaaaa!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! You all inspire me to keep writing. This is an extremely explicit chapter. There is violence, slight gore, and rape. This is an intense one, guys. I hope you like it.**

* * *

The heavy footsteps were echoing louder against the metal shelves as they neared me. I began to step silently sideways, inching my way along the shelf and hoping to make it around the corner before the man did. There was nothing around me to conceal myself with, and no nooks and crannies to squeeze into.

The footsteps stopped and I heard the clinking of bottles. Holding my breath, I peered around the corner to catch a glimpse of the man. He was heavily built and wore a long white labcoat, which brought back flashes of neglect and torture of my stay here.

I leaned back again and tried to formulate a plan. If the bad man stepped around the corner, I would be discovered in a heartbeat. If I was lucky enough, he would go right back through the door he came and I could try and pry open the window again.

_Where did Emmett go?_

The window was still empty. I stood my ground, holding my hands in my pockets and gripping the vials tightly. It was an excruciatingly long few seconds before the bad man began walking back to the door. I held back a sigh of relief as he exited the room and the door beeped shut behind him.

My head shot back towards the window and I ran over. It was much taller than my head, and I couldn't reach it even if I stood and jumped. Glancing around the room, I managed to find a stack of milk crates that I could use to stand on. I pushed them up against the cement wall, climbing them easily and balancing on the third while I began to push at the window.

_Come on, Emmett!_

As hard as I pushed and as much as I rattled, the window was stuck in its hinges. The only way out of the room was out the door, and into a hallway of tight security. I would surely be caught.

Unless I took the injections first.

I pulled out a vial from my pocket and stared at it. Jacob's words echoed in my mind: _It's a long and dreadful process. I was screaming in the woods for hours._

It wouldn't help the situation to take the chemicals now. I would never be able to get out alive if I was going through that much pain. With a huff of frustration, I stuffed the bottle back into my pocket and eyed the door. It looked heavy and I wasn't sure my thin arms could pull it open.

_Then what would I do?_

I didn't have time to think, because the door beeped again. In the split second it took for me to dive behind a shelf, the door swung open and another white-coated man stepped inside.

The man was speaking into a black radio connected to the collar of his shirt. He walked down the line of shelves quickly and then turned and stopped.

"She's not in here."

I felt my blood run cold.

Another voice sounded from the other end of the radio.

"Make sure. Check the stock. Is everything there?"

There was a moment of silence before the man responded.

"The retransfiguration formulas are missing."

The vials felt suddenly heavier in my pockets. With the door hanging open, I took the only chance I knew I was going to get and bolted for the hallway.

As soon as I revealed myself, the heavy footsteps were pounding behind me. The hallway was so bright that I had to squint to see the sharp turns in front of me. I passed multiple men in labcoats, and soon their footsteps were behind me too.

_Oh, someone help me!_

I whipped around a corner and skidded to a stop. There were two men in front of me, each of them holding a slender gun in their hands. My shaking legs took a step back.

"Come quietly and we won't need to use these." One of them lowered his weapon and fixed his eyes on mine. I whimpered as they closed in, surrounding me with their white coats. One of the bad men grabbed the back of my shirt and swung me into the wall, slamming my cheek against the concrete and holding my head in place.

My jacket was ripped off and the vials came spilling out of my pockets, some of them shattering across the ground.

"This looks familiar." The bad man snickered, tightening his fingers through a fistful of my hair. "Where are your friends?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he slammed my cheek into the wall again.

"Do you know what we do to thieves?" he demanded. "Do you know what we do to little shits like you?"

My face hit the wall again.

_Jacob, Emmett, where are you? Why are you letting this happen to me? Jasper would never let this happen to me…_

Why had I left Jasper in the first place? I could be there now, wrapped in his arms and safe from this hateful world. I had put Maria in the hospital, and she would have taken me to court unless I ran away.

The anger in Jasper's voice the last night I saw him reminded me that this was where I belonged. The mill was where I was born, and the mill was where I was going to die.

The bad man restraining me yanked my shirt over my head and pushed me to the ground. As I was crouched forward on my knees, he pushed the hair up off the back of my neck to reveal my identification code.

"Well I'll be damned." I realized that a few of the men had left the scene, leaving me alone with the one bad man in the middle of the hallway.

The bad man grabbed the waistline of my bottoms and began to tug them down my hips.

"You've grown up a bit. I thought you got away, but here you come crawling back. Did you want more? Did you miss us? Maybe you'll be able to take it easier-" His voice faded out in my head because I realized deep inside exactly who this man was. It was the same man who had violated me as a child. He recognized me, and I recognized him. I knew what was coming next before it happened.

Seconds later, I was laying naked on the ground being violated. It was painful and as much as I cried, I knew he wasn't going to stop. Occasionally another man would walk by, but he said nothing and paid no notice to us. As if it was normal.

"How do you like this, 8276?" He said with satisfaction as he shoved himself into me. I bit back a cry of pain. I couldn't let this man continue to violate me like a toy. Not again.

With every ounce of strength and fury in my body, I reached up and unsheathed my claws, swiping them across the man's eyes. Blood splattered across my bare chest and the man howled in agony. He covered his bloody eye sockets with his hands and continued to wail as I broke free of his body and grabbed my clothes.

"My name is Alice!" I spat, yanking my clothes on. I snatched up my jacket and stuffed the vials back into the pockets, then stumbled down the hallway with an uneven step.

As I turned another corner, a large figure ran straight into me, knocking me onto my back. I shook the dizziness from my head and looked up.

"Emmett!" He was bleeding from multiple cuts on his face and had a bruise forming over his right eye. The bulky neko reached down and grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet again.

"Are you okay?" he demanded. Unsure how to respond, I stood on my wobbly legs and stared down at the crimson red stain on my shorts and the blood dripping down my inner thighs.

"Jesus, Alice!" He turned around and motioned for me to climb onto his back, so I did.

The howling from down the hallway continued as my attacker bled furiously onto the cement.

"Did you get the chemicals?" Emmett asked as he started jogging down the hall. I piped a quiet response and rested my head against the back of his shoulder. "Jesus, Alice. I'm sorry."

I hadn't asked where Emmett had vanished to, or why. From the look of his face, he had run into trouble of his own. I couldn't blame him for my encounter with the bad men.

The sound of pitiful meowing distracted us and Emmett came to a stop in front of a large gated doorway. Behind steel bars, at least a hundred nekos were crying out for help. I could feel Emmett's muscles tighten and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

We couldn't leave them all here.

Emmett grabbed the door and yanked it open. Every feline ear in the room shot up.

"Come on, everyone!" he shouted. "We're getting the hell out of here!"

The neko children came running out the door, flooding the hallway. All of them meowing and squealing with excitement as they ran whichever way they could. Emmett and I followed within the crowd, standing out among all the tiny kids.

The bad men patrolling the hallways tried to grab at the escaped nekos, but adrenaline made them impossible to catch. Eventually gunshots sounded and a few of the children fell behind and dropped onto their hands and knees. I winced and hid my face in Emmett's shirt.

It was impossible to save everyone.

As we burst through into the entry room, the receptionist screamed and jumped up onto her desk. Neko children plunged through the front doors and streamed out across the parking lot, taking off in different directions. I watched them cry with happiness as they were finally free from that neverending nightmare. Smiling, I rested my eyes for a few minutes until Emmett slowed down and came to a stop.

I climbed off his back and sat on the ground with my legs sprawled in front of me.

"Where is Jacob?" I asked quietly, pulling the vials out of my pockets and setting them on the grass in front of me.

"I don't know." Emmett barked angrily. "He was supposed to be helping us." He picked up one of the vials and stared at it. "What do you think?"

I looked at him expectantly.

"This is what we wanted, right?" He continued. "We want to become humans."

I nodded slightly, eyeing a small neko girl who was climbing up a hill as fast as her tiny legs could take her. She fell against the grass, spreading out her pale arms and looking blissfully happy among the greenery that she had never seen before.

_Then why do I feel like I don't want to change?_

* * *

**Well that was intense. What's going to happen next? Where did Jacob go? Is Alice going to be okay? Will Jasper ever find her? Keep reading Lucky Cat to find out! Nyaaa!**


	18. Chapter 18

When I first met Jasper, I knew that he was the one. He was my savior, my knight in shining armor, the love of my life, and my best friend. He chose me out of a number of prettier, much more stable neko girls and he gave me a life that I couldn't have dreamed of. He saved my life. The day that he sat me in his bathtub and accepted me for exactly what I was- a beaten, broken child- was the day that I fell in love with him.

I missed the mornings that we would wake up together and I could be curled tightly into his chest; our limbs tangled in the messy sheets. I missed waiting next to the front door for the moment that he would burst through with a ten pound backpack of college textbooks and that classic smile on his lips. I missed the way he could scoop me up with ease and hold me in the crook of his arm so I could nuzzle my face into his warm shoulder and breath in his comforting scent. God, I missed his scent.

I had to quickly remind myself that there was a reason I ran away from the Whitlock estate. I had attacked Maria and if Jasper had tried to protect me, I could have gotten sent back to the mill. As much as it hurt to shove that dresser in front of my door, I knew that I had to place a barrier between Jasper and myself. I had to let him go.

But if I wasn't a neko, I didn't have to go to the mill. I could come home to Jasper and we could live happily ever after like the books in the library. He would love me, and I would love him, and we would have a fairytale wedding. He would wear the black and gold cat-printed tie that Chives and I had bought for his twenty-first birthday, and it would be _perfect_.

"Earth to Alice!" Emmett's annoyed voice broke through my mind and I shook the thoughts clear from my head. I was no longer standing in front of a chapel in a flowing white dress. I was sitting on the cold ground with aching hips and a bruised face. The vessels of chemicals still sat between the two of us, untouched.

"Are we doing this?" Emmett continued impatiently, still holding one of the vials in his fist.

"N-now?" I stuttered, glancing around quickly.

"Unless you wanted to wait for the _parade, _Alice." He snapped sarcastically, flipping the lid off of one of the vials and grabbing a syringe from the pile.

My mouth spoke before I knew what to say.

"I can't do it."

Emmett dropped the syringe and stared at me with dark eyes.

"You're kidding." he said.

"This is who I am." I began to stroke the tip of my tail subconsciously. "This is how I was born, and this is the girl that Jasper loves."

"Are you _shitting _me? This is your second chance! You just risked your life for this!" Emmett yelled, jumping to his feet. "You're going to give up the life of your dreams because of your fucking _owner? _You're giving up your second chance to be a _house pet?_" I stared at him with fixed topaz eyes.

"I already had the life of my dreams."

Emmett looked down at me with disbelief. Finally, his eyes softened and his lips curved into a smile.

"You're one lucky cat, Alice." He said, leaning down and picking up the syringe he dropped. In a quick motion, he popped the vessel into the syringe and stabbed the long needle into his forearm. I winced as Emmett's jaws snapped together and he let out a long sigh of either relief or pain.

"What does it feel like?" I asked, pulling myself up to my feet.

"Like ecstacy." Emmett responded, closing his eyes and lifting his head towards the sky. "Give me the next one." I did as he told me and picked up the next purple-colored liquid and inserted it into the now-empty syringe. Emmett repeated the process twice more until he had taken all three dosages that Jacob had explained.

"Are you okay?" I ventured to ask.

"I feel great." Emmett answered through gritted teeth. "This is nothing."

But minutes later, the boy began to sweat and his breaths got caught in his throat. I watched helplessly as he slid down onto his knees in the damp grass.

"Emmett?" I piped quietly, reaching down to put my hand on his back. His shirt was saturated with sweat and his skin was hot to the touch. The neko began to writhe and howl in pain, throwing himself around on the ground as if he were having a tantrum. I knew that there was nothing to do but sit and wait. How long would he be screaming? Jacob said that his effects had lasted for hours. It hurt to see Emmett in so much agony, but it was a pain that he had chosen for himself.

Twenty minutes later Emmett's howls had died down into gasps and grunts. I sat across from him in the small clearing of the woods with my back up against a tree, assessing the damage that had been dealt in the mill. Besides the crimson design between my thighs, the side of my face that had been slammed against the wall was swollen and sore. I had a few bumps and scratches here and there, but overall I felt okay.

_Where is Jacob? _I asked myself. He hadn't been in the mill and I couldn't help feeling abandoned by the human male.

The sun was going down and the insects got louder around us. A swatted aside a few mosquitos and scratched at a couple of bites on my arms and legs. Determined not to leave Emmett until his transformation was complete, I made myself comfortable in a spot against a tree root and closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, it was dark. My ears twitched slightly as I listened to the atmosphere around me. Beside me I could hear Emmett's grunts and feverish moans. I could hear the crickets chirping and the wind rustling through the branches, but there was something beyond that.

Footsteps.

Several pairs of shoes crunched through the undergrowth and by my guess they were only a few yards away. Multiple beams of light began to reflect off of leaves, and I began to hear voices as well.

"They escaped into these woods, I know it."

"With any luck they didn't make it far."

I grabbed Emmett's arm urgently, but he turned his head and gazed at me with empty eyes.

"Come on!" I hissed through the darkness. "The men are after us, we have to run!"

But Emmett looked unable to comprehend my words. Instead, he groaned and rolled onto his side.

I was nowhere near strong enough to move or hide Emmett, so I did the only thing I thought of to do. Leaving him lying under the shadows of the same tree I had been sleeping under, I jumped to my feet and began to run through the woods as quickly and as loudly as I could.

Sharp branches sliced at my skin as I ran, but I was only focused on leading the group away from Emmett.

_He would have done the same for me… I think._

I could hear the pounding footsteps pursuing me through the brambles, giving me incentive to run even faster.

"Get her!"

"Faster!"

"I want that little shit's tail on my wall!"

"Shoot the thing already!"

I was thankful for the dense forest around me. If these men had guns, it would be much harder to hit me with so many obstacles in the way. The forest seemed to be neverending as I knocked aside branches and tufts of sticky cobwebs.

Finally, after a few minutes of running, I could no longer hear their pounding shoes behind me. Their voices had gotten lost in the distance and the flashlight beams were no longer bouncing from tree to tree.

_I think I lost them._

Afraid to slow down, I leapt over another tree root and thrust small branches out of my way. I began to wonder how much longer this vast forest would go on for, or how long I would be be running.

As if on cue, I burst through the edge of the forest and found myself running across hard pavement.

The car hit me before I could see it coming. After a short-lived flying sensation, I hit the ground and blinked my eyes a few times. The last thing I remember was the clearest night sky I had ever seen.

* * *

...

...

"Hey, Alice. The doctor said you probably can't hear me, _but I thought it was worth a shot_… You took a nasty hit, but you don't look that bad… I'm a human now, Alice. Everything looks a little darker and sounds a little softer, but I feel more alive than ever… It's weird, Alice. You stayed by my side in the woods, even after I was so mean to you… I'm sorry that I said those things about you and your parents. You're a good kid, Alice. When Jacob told me what happened, I thought you were a goner for sure. The fact that you're still breathing is a miracle. But hey, it looks like you got your second chance after all."

...

...

...

"I've got to say, Alice, I underestimated you. You started a _revolution. _After your little rescue, the media was all over the conditions of the neko children. The government intervened and shut down the mill… Those men are in prison for the rest of their lives and there are laws being passed across the entire country to shut down neko production and outlaw the purchase and ownership of any neko. It's a beautiful thing, Alice, and it's all because of _you_. Because of you, there are neko children playing in the park again. You've changed everything… and here you are, ears and all. The doctors said you probably can't hear me… _but I think you can._ I think I knew that you weren't going to change yourself Alice… and I think you knew it too… I'm sorry I wasn't there at the mill with you and Emmett… I went to find your owner… I mean, your _friend. _Boy, he was happy to hear that you were okay. He loves you, you know. I could see it in his eyes. You've got yourself a good home, Alice. You're lucky."

...

...

...

...

...

"Hey, Alice. I brought you some tulips today. The roses were starting to pile up and I thought some yellow would brighten up the room a little bit… they reminded me of your eyes… The doctors said you can't hear me, _but I hope you can. _I love you, Alice. Please get through this… Please come home."

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"Alice?"

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**It's not over yet, I promise. Keep reviewing, and keep reading! 3 Nyaaa!**


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